AlHijjah 20, 1436, October 04, 2015, SPA -- German President Joachim Gauck is scheduled to fly to the United States next week for a series of events in recognition of the 25th anniversary of the reunification of Germany, which the country celebrated Saturday, according to dpa. Gauck is scheduled to arrive Monday in Philadelphia and speak to students the next day at the University of Pennsylvania, recalling the beginning of German emigration to the US in the 17th century. He also will visit Independence Hall, where the US Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776. Later Tuesday he will fly to Washington and visit the Lincoln Memorial and the Martin Luther King Memorial before attending a reception at the German Embassy marking Germany's reunification in 1990. Gauck, accompanied by his partner, Daniela Schadt, will cap off the visit on Wednesday with stop at the White House, where he will meet with President Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State John Kerry. It will be the first time in 18 years a German president has been received at the White House. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has made several visits to the White House, but it will be the first for Gauck, who welcomed Obama to his official residence, Bellevue Palace, in 2013. The visit is meant to underscore the friendship and partnership between the US and Germany. In a message commemorating the 25th anniversary of reunification, Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said October 3 is "an occasion for us Germans to celebrate, but also to look back with gratitude" for the trust afforded to Germany by its neighbors and partners. Twenty-five years ago on Saturday, East Germany and West Germany came together as one country. The path to unification began with the fall of the Berlin Wall nearly one year prior, as well as months of political negotiations.
