(VOVworld) - Outgoing US President Barack Obama phoned German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday, emphasizing the importance of US-German ties for the world.

Outgoing US President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel at a press conference after a meeting in Berlin, Germany on November 17, 2016 (Photo: AFP/ VNA)

The phone call came one day before President Obama handed over power to President- elect Donald Trump, who has made comments of Ms. Merkel and NATO.

The two leaders agreed that close cooperation between Washington and Berlin and between the United States and Europe is essential to ensuring a sturdy trans-Atlantic bond, a rules-based international order, and the defense of values that have done so much to advance human progress around the world.