German FM meets EU, NATO officials and India’s Piyush Goyal in Brussels after China trip postponed

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul will travel to Brussels starting Monday to meet NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Indian Trade Minister Piyush Goyal, and other senior policymakers, a ministry spokesperson said.

The visit follows the postponement of a trip to China, originally set to begin Sunday, after Beijing confirmed only one of Wadephul’s requested meetings, highlighting growing tensions between Berlin and Beijing over trade and security issues.

In Brussels, Wadephul is also scheduled to meet European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič, and EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, according to the spokesperson.

”The focus of the consultations with representatives of the EU and NATO – the organisations that bring together our most important and closest partners and allies – will be on continued support for Ukraine and European security and defence capabilities,” the spokesperson said.

Another focus of the talks will be international trade issues, including prospects and potential solutions for ensuring a smooth supply of important raw materials, in particular rare earths and computer chips, two areas that are subject to bottlenecks.

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India’s Goyal is in Brussels for trade policy talks, the spokesperson said.

The EU and India are working to meet a year-end deadline for signing a free trade pact.

With inputs from agencies