Germany and Israel are celebrating 60 years of diplomatic relations today. On this occasion, an exchange of official state visits is expected, DPA reports, BTA reports.
Israeli President Yitzhak Herzog is expected to arrive in Berlin today, and tomorrow and the day after tomorrow his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier will visit Israel. The two presidents will be accompanied by their wives – Michal Herzog and Elke Budenbender.
Diplomatic relations between Germany and Israel were officially established on May 12, 1965, as a result of an agreement between then-German Chancellor Ludwig Erhard and Israeli Prime Minister Levi Eshkol.
This historic rapprochement was achieved despite the deep wounds of the Holocaust, in which Nazi Germany murdered some six million Jews. The event remains a lasting mark on relations between the two countries.
President Herzog's visit begins with an official ceremony and military honors this morning at the Bellevue Palace in Berlin.