Ivanka Trump rubs shoulders with Merkel, Lagarde at Berlin women's summit

[April 25, 2017]  BERLIN (Reuters) - Ivanka Trump arrived for a G20 women's summit on Tuesday in Berlin, where she is due to discuss support for women entrepreneurs with the likes of German Chancellor Angela Merkel and International Monetary Fund head Christine Lagarde.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel (R) and Managing Director of the IMF Christine Lagarde attend a news conference following a meeting of the heads of international economy and finance organisations at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, April 10, 2017. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke/File Photo

Trump is an informal adviser to her father Donald, a highly unusual role for a U.S. president's daughter. Last month she was pictured sitting next to Merkel during the German leader's visit to the White House, which was characterized by awkward body language between the president and the chancellor as they tried to play down their differences on issues such as trade.

Trump will take part in a podium discussion with Merkel and Lagarde at the two-day summit, where other attendees include Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands.

The newspaper Berliner Zeitung said German officials would "certainly be hoping that the president's daughter will convey a positive image of Germany to her father as a result of her short visit".

Trump is seen as an increasingly important influence on her father and her husband, Jared Kushner, is a top adviser to him. In late March she said she would serve in the White House in an unpaid, informal advisory role to the president as she tried to allay ethics concerns about working there.]

(Reporting by Michelle Martin; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)

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