The pair of leaders held a joint press conference at the White House following their summit, addressing the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, trade deals and economic development, among other issues.

Before the news conference, Trump and Merkel discussed economic development and job training. Trump touted Germany's apprenticeship programs, praising its youth unemployment rate.

He said the U.S. needs to "embrace new and effective job-training approaches," like alternatives to four-year college. Trump said those methods could help to boost economic productivity, particularly in manufacturing.

Key American and German executives joined the leaders for the meeting:

BMW CEO Harald Krueger



Siemens CEO Joe Kaeser



Schaeffler CEO Klaus Rosenfeld



Dow Chemical CEO Andrew Liveris



IBM CEO Ginni Rometty



Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff





