Erdoğan meets German state premier tipped as possible Merz successor

President Erdoğan met North Rhine-Westphalia premier Hendrik Wüst in Ankara on Monday, the first official visit by a sitting NRW premier to Türkiye, as part of a three-day trip marking 65 years since the 1961 Türkiye-West Germany labour recruitment agreement. The two discussed modernising the EU-Türkiye customs union, defence-industry cooperation and human rights. Wüst, a senior figure in Germany's CDU, is discussed as a possible successor to Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

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