The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) will invite US State Department representatives, members of Congress and US lobby organizations to a conference it is holding in Berlin in February in a drive to boost its relations with the Republican Party.
Deputy AfD parliamentary head Markus Frohnmaier made the announcement as he received an award at a gala held by the influential New York Young Republican Club. The AfD conference is taking place at the same time as the annual Munich Security Conference.
In his speech Frohnmaier, highlighted what he termed an "alliance" of "patriots" in the US and Germany.
A number of AfD legislators have recently travelled to the US to boost relations with the President Donald Trump's party, drawing criticism from other German parties. They said the AfD was generating anti-German sentiment and questioned the costs of the trip.
Frohnmaier said he had met US administration officials on Friday, without identifying them.
The New York gala event on Saturday evening revealed clear similarities between the AfD line on immigration and that of the Trump's Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement.
In a speech praising Frohnmaier, Dovid Holtzman, speaking for the club, called out "Germany First!" channelling Trump's "America First" agenda.
Addressing German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, he called on Merz to tear down the firewall that other German parties have erected to keep the AfD out of government.
"Tear down this Brandmauer (firewall)!" he said. Republican president Ronald Reagan made a similar call to Soviet leaders to tear down the Berlin Wall while on a visit to Berlin in 1987.
