The German Chancellor Angela Merkel is expected to visit Greece during the second week of January.

Merkel will be in the Greek capital Athens on a two-day official visit on January 10 and 11, meeting with the Greek President Prokopios Pavlopoulos, the Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, and the leader of the main opposition, Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

Merkel, who is no longer the leader of her own center-right political party CDU, wants to send a message of support to Greece, following the country’s exit from the 8-year period of bailout programs.

Following the 2015 decision of the SYRIZA-led government to implement the third bailout program and due to the close cooperation of the two countries on the issue of the refugee and migrant crisis in 2015 and 2016, the relationship between Merkel and Tsipras is thought to be very good.

The last time the German Chancellor visited Athens was in October 2012, a few months after Antonis Samaras’ victory in the general election of June the same year.

Source: Nick Kampouris/greekreporter