Commander of the German Military General Volker Wieker began his first visit to Israel Tuesday, starting a several-day working tour with a meeting with IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi.
His first stop was at the Yad VaShem Holocaust Memorial and Museum, where he attended a special memorial ceremony and placed a bouquet of flowers in memory of the victims of the Holocaust.
Upon his arrival, an honorary guard welcomed General Wieker at Defense Ministry headquarters in Tel Aviv.
Lt. Gen. Wieker will attend security and strategy assessments held by members of the General Staff and will meet with the next Chief of the General Staff, Major General Yoav Galant. He also will visit the Northern Command and the Israel Air Force.
The IDF said it sees international military cooperation as “essential to deal with mutual challenges, most notably the war on terror.” General Wieker's visit to Israel is part of a series of visits to the IDF by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the U.S. military and commanders of the Bulgarian and Kenyan military, among others.