Former US president Barack Obama joined former German chancellor Angela Merkel on a visit to Washington's National Museum of African American History and Culture.
"As president, I saw Chancellor Merkel lead through crises with her wise pragmatism, good humor, and unrelenting moral compass - and I feel lucky to call her a friend," Obama tweeted over a photograph showing the two inside the museum.
The museum represented "a reminder that America is a constant work in progress," he added.
In response to a question from dpa, Merkel's spokesperson in Berlin confirmed on Wednesday that she was in Washington for "political talks after her time in office."
Merkel had been in Washington since Monday and would return to Berlin on Thursday, the spokesperson said.
Merkel and Obama struck up a strong relationship during their overlapping periods in office – she was chancellor from 2005 to 2021 and he was president from 2009 to 2017.
