The German Chancellery has confirmed that Chancellor Friedrich Merz will lead a high-profile delegation of CEOs and start-up founders to Singapore, Japan and South Korea from 26 to 30 October 2026. According to a press release issued on 23 October, the trip aims to deepen security and economic cooperation and will include the opening of the Asia-Pacific Conference of German Business in Seoul. Key stops feature bilateral talks with Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, an address at the Singapore Lecture series, a German-Japanese Business Summit in Tokyo hosted by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, and site visits to joint-venture manufacturing plants. Merz will also tour the Demilitarised Zone between the two Koreas, underscoring Germany’s growing Indo-Pacific security interest. For corporate mobility teams, the announcement triggers an uptick in short-notice travel requests from accompanying firms, many of which are seeking market access under the EU–Singapore and EU–Japan trade agreements. Airlines report a spike in business-class bookings out of Frankfurt and Munich for 25 October, while hotels near Seoul’s COEX convention centre are nearing capacity. Germany’s foreign ministry has advised travellers to verify visa requirements—especially for accompanying third-country nationals who may need separate Korean electronic travel authorisations (K-ETA). Companies planning side-events should account for regional holidays: 28 October is a public holiday in Japan, which may affect ground transportation. Beyond the immediate logistics, the tour signals Berlin’s intent to pivot more export-oriented SMEs toward Asia amid slowing demand in Europe, making it a bellwether for future mobility corridors.
