German Chancellor Angela Merkel will attend an election rally of the European People's Party in Zagreb in May - her first appearance at rallies outside Germany - and she will meet with Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, the government said on Saturday.

Merkel and the frontrunner for the next European Commission President, Manfred Weber, will attend the central EPP election rally in Zagreb on May 18, government spokesman Marko Milic confirmed to Hina on Saturday.

Merkel’s visit to Zagreb, after Plenkovic’s two visits to Berlin during his current term, confirms the ever closer Croatian-German relations, the government said.