Merkel Calls for Global Cooperation Ahead of G-20 Meet

(Bloomberg) -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel emphasized the importance of global cooperation as she laid out her views on trade ahead of next week’s G-20 summit in Japan.

In a video blog on Saturday, she stressed the importance of the G-20 in tackling issues including free trade, digitization, climate change and health. Global problems “cannot be solved by going it alone,” Merkel said, noting that U.S.-China tensions are having knock-on effects “felt every day” in Germany.

“We depend very much on whether there are protectionist elements in trade, as we currently see it,” Merkel said.

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In separate remarks made at Germany’s Evangelical Church Assembly in Dortmund on Saturday, Merkel said that international politics can’t succeed without trust as a basis, according to news agency DPA. She also called for a peaceful solution to the crisis between the U.S. and Iran, adding that the issue will certainly play a role in next week’s summit in Osaka.

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