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  on friday, merkel presses ahead with the new, arriving in washington for her first face-to-face encounter with trump after months of preparation and one postponement due to snow. analysts and white house officials alike say friday's sit-down will be trump's most important meeting with a foreign leader since the republican businessman took office in january.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  merkel, who spoke to trump by phone in january, pushed for an in-person meeting in order to begin developing the personal ties that she hopes will lead to effective cooperation down the road, according to a german official familiar with her planning.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  "face-to-face talks are always much better than talking about each other," merkel told reporters in munich recently.
article_headline: trump welcomes merkel after bashing her on campaign trail