List of presidential trips made by John McCain (SIADD)

President John S. McCain.

This is a list of trips made by John McCain during his term of office as President of the United States. This list excludes trips made within the Washington Metropolitan Area, as well as trips to Camp David, the country residence of the President of the United States, or to the home of the McCain family in Phoenix, Arizona. The official residence and principal workplace of the President of the United States is the White House, in Washington, D.C.

Summary

Map of international trips made by John McCain as president:

  1 visit

  2 visits

  3 visits

  4 visits

  5 visits

  6 visits

  7 or more visits

  United States

President McCain has already visited more countries during his office than any other president. As of May 2010, McCain has visited a total of 28 countries on 4 continents. So far has he frequently visited countries such as France, Germany and Mexico. He has also frequently visited U.S. soldiers serving in Afghanistan and Iraq.

McCain made his fifth trip to Europe in October to to attend the Commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. This makes him the first President in history to go to Europe five times in his first nine months in office. He has shown a pattern of combining a trip to Europe with another destination in the Middle East or Africa. The president flew to Copenhagen in order to attend the United Nations Climate Change Conference 2009. In April 2010, he went against recommendations and flew to Europe in order to attend the funeral of late president Lech Kaczyński in Kraków, who died in a plane crash outside of Smolensk, Russia on April 10, 2010.

He is also the first U.S. official to visit Libya, marking the normalized relations between the United States and Libya.

2009

January

No foreign trips made.

February

Country	Areas visited	Start	End	Notes
Canada	Ottawa, Ontario	February 19		First trip outside of the United States; first trip to Canada. McCain met with Canadian governor general Michaëlle Jean and prime minister Stephen Harper.

March

Country	Areas visited	Start	End	Notes
United Kingdom United Kingdom	London	March 31	April 3	First trip to Europe; first trip to the United Kingdom. McCain was attending the 2009 G-20 London Summit. McCain also met with Queen Elizabeth II.

April

Country	Areas visited	Start	End	Notes
France France	Strasbourg	April 3		First trip to Continental Europe; first trip to France. McCain was attending the 2009 NATO Strasbourg–Kehl summit.
Germany Germany	Kehl, Baden-Baden	April 3	April 4	First trip to Continental Europe; first trip to Germany. McCain was attending the 2009 NATO Strasbourg–Kehl summit.
Czech Republic	Prague	April 4	April 5	First trip to Central Europe; first trip to the Czech Republic, then holding the rotating presidency of the European Council. McCain met with Czech president Václav Klaus and Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek. He also made a speech in Hradčany, Prague, in which he spoke about the threat of nuclear weapons in the post-Cold War era.
Mexico	Mexico City	April 16	April 17	First trip to Latin America; first trip to Mexico. McCain met with Mexican president Felipe Calderón.
Trinidad and Tobago	Port of Spain	April 17	April 19	First trip to the Caribbean; first trip to Trinidad and Tobago. McCain was attending the 5th Summit of the Americas.

May

No foreign trips made.

June

Country	Areas visited	Start	End	Notes
Turkey	Ankara, Istanbul	June 1		First trip to Asia and Southern Europe; first trip to Turkey. McCain met with Turkish President Abdullah Gül and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and delivered a speech to the Turkish Parliament. McCain also laid a wreath at the Anıtkabir and met with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople of the Orthodox Church.
Israel Israel	Tel Aviv	June 2	June 3	First trip to the Middle East; first trip to Israel. McCain met with Israeli President Shimon Peres and Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. McCain re-affirmed his administration's support of Israel's right to defend itself, and announced that the McCain Administration would work closely with the Israeli Government and the Palestinian National Authority to find a solution to the Arab–Israeli conflict.
Jordan	Amman	June 3		First trip to Jordan. McCain and King Abdullah II of Jordan discussed various issues, including the cooperation between the United States, Israel, the Palestinian National Authority and Jordan to end the Arab–Israeli conflict.
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia	Riyadh Province	June 3	June 4	First trip to Saudi Arabia. McCain met with King Abdullah and discussed various issues, including the Arab–Israeli conflict and Iran's nuclear programme.
Egypt Egypt	Cairo, Giza	June 4		First visit to Africa; first trip to Egypt. McCain held a speech to the Muslim world at Cairo University, in which he tried to reasure to the Middle East that a peace deal between the Palestinians and Israelies could be struck. McCain would also try and use this to repair the image of America abroad. He would also meet with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, with whom he discussed several topics, including terrorism and the Arab–Israeli conflict.
Germany Germany	Dresden, Buchenwald, Landstuhl	June 5		McCain visited the Buchenwald concentration camp, ahead of the D-Day commemorations, and a former U.S. military hospital. He also spoke of the Arab–Israeli conflict, and met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
France France	Paris, Caen	June 5	June 7	McCain was in France to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the Normandy Landings. McCain met dignitaries including French President Nicolas Sarkozy, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and Charles, the Prince of Wales. In Paris, McCain and his family took part in sightseeing.

July

Country	Areas visited	Start	End	Notes
Russia	Moscow	July 6	July 8	First trip to Eastern Europe; first trip to Russia. McCain met with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to discuss global issues, including Pentagon's missile shield in Poland and the Czech Republic, reductions in U.S. and Russian stockpiles of nuclear weapons as well as plans to replace the expiring START I agreement and the War in Afghanistan.
Italy	L'Aquila, Rome	July 8	July 10	First trip to Italy. McCain was attending the 35th G8 summit. McCain also met with Italian President Giorgio Napolitano and Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. Issues discussed were the economy, the War in Afghanistan as well as relations with Libya and the Middle East.
Vatican City	Vatican City	July 10		First trip to the Vatican. McCain met with Pope Benedict XVI, and discussed issues such as poverty, stem-cell research, peace in the Middle East, and the need to reach out to the Muslim world. McCain and the Pope also exchanged gifts.
Libya	Tripoli	July 11		First U.S. president to visit Libya. McCain met with Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi. They discussed various issues, including peacemaking efforts in Africa, trade agreements, human rights and political reform.
Ghana	Accra, Cape Coast	July 12		First trip to Sub-Saharan Africa; first trip to Ghana. McCain met with Ghanaian President John Atta Mills and made a speech to the Parliament of Ghana. He also toured a former departing point of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, the Cape Coast Castle.
Iraq	Baghdad	July 23	July 24	First trip to Iraq. McCain met with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. He also visited U.S. soldiers fighting in the Iraq War.
Afghanistan	Kabul, Helmand Province	July 25	July 26	First trip to Central Asia; first trip to Afghanistan. In Kabul, McCain met with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and opposition candidate Dr. Abdullah Abdullah. In the Helmand province, he visited U.S. soldiers deployed there as part of the troop increase ordered by McCain in February.

August

Country	Areas visited	Start	End	Notes
Mexico	Guadalajara	August 8	August 11	McCain attended the annual North American Leaders' Summit along with Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper and Mexican president Felipe Calderón.

September

Country	Areas visited	Start	End	Notes
Poland	Gdansk, Warsaw	September 1	September 2	First trip to Poland. McCain attended a ceremony commemorating the 70th anniversary for the outbreak of the German invasion of Poland and the beginning of the Second World War. Also attending were Polish president Lech Kaczyński and prime minister Donald Tusk, German chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin. In Warsaw he met with president Kaczyński and prime minister Tusk, discussing the War in Afghanistan, NATO-Russian relations and the planned missile defence shield in Poland and the Czech Republic.
Russia Russia	Moscow	September 3		During a surprise visit, McCain met with Russian president Dmitry Medvedev and prime minister Vladimir Putin to discuss the issue of the missile defence shield in the Czech Republic and Poland. McCain would again express his strong support of the missile defence shield in Eastern Europe, but announced that his administration was willing to work closely with Russia to make the missile defence shield a joint project under NATO-Russian control, with components in both the Czech Republic and Poland as initially announced, but also incorporating the Russian proposal of a radar base in Azerbaijan. They would also discuss plans for completing a nuclear disarmament treaty to replace START I, a 15 year treaty that entered into force on 5 December 1994.

October

No foreign trips made.

November

Country	Areas visited	Start	End	Notes
Germany Germany	Berlin	November 9		McCain attended the Commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall with other European heads of state and government, including German president Horst Köhler and chancellor Angela Merkel, Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, French president Nicolas Sarkozy, British prime minister Gordon Brown, Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi and Berlin's Mayor Klaus Wowereit.
Japan Japan	Tokyo	November 13	November 14	First trip to East Asia; first trip to Japan. The trip was the first stop on a five-nation tour of Asia. While in Japan, McCain met with Japanese prime minister Yukio Hatoyama. McCain also visted the Tokyo Imperial Palace, meeting with Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, and made a speech at the Suntory Hall in Tokyo.
Singapore Singapore	Singapore	November 15		First trip to Southeast Asia; first trip to Singapore. The trip was the second stop on a five-nation tour of Asia. McCain was attending the APEC Singapore 2009 summit. While in Singapore, McCain took part in bilateral meetings with Singaporean president Lee Hsien Loong and Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
Vietnam	Hanoi	November 16		First trip to Vietnam. The trip was the third stop on a five-nation tour of Asia. While in Vietnam, McCain met with Vietnamese president Nguyễn Minh Triết and prime minister Nguyễn Tấn Dũng.
People's Republic of China China	Shanghai, Beijing	November 17	November 19	First trip to China, the fourth stop on a five-nation tour of Asia. In Shanghai, McCain met with Shanghai Party Secretary Yu Zhengsheng and Mayor Han Zheng. He also took part in a town-hall style meeting with Chinese students, adressing a range of issues such as human rights violation, Tibet, internet censorship and U.S. arms deals with Taiwan. In Beijing, McCain took part in a bilateral meeting with China's head of state Hu Jintao, and met with Chinese premier Wen Jiabao. McCain also visited various cultural sights; these included the Forbidden City and part of the Great Wall of China.
South Korea	Seoul, Pyeongtaek	November 19	November 20	First trip to the Korean peninsula; first trip to South Korea. The trip was the final stop on a five-nation tour of Asia. McCain met with South Korean president Lee Myung-bak at the Blue House, discussing such issues as North Korea and the inactive South Korea – United States Free Trade Agreement. McCain also met with U.S. soldiers stationed at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek.

December

Country	Areas visited	Start	End	Notes
Denmark Denmark	Copenhagen	December 18	December 19	First trip to Scandinavia, and to a Nordic country. First trip to Denmark. McCain made a speech at the Bella Center to attendants of the United Nations Climate Change Conference 2009. He also took part in a bilateral meeting with Chinese premier Wen Jiabao, and negotiated on the details of the Copenhagen Accord, which among others included long-term emission-reduction goals for global emissions to decrease by 50%, and developed countries emissions to fall by 70% by 2050 compared to 1990. He also met Danish Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, Queen Margrethe II and Henrik, Prince Consort of Denmark.

2010

January

Country	Areas visited	Start	End	Notes
Afghanistan	Kabul	January 26		In Kabul, McCain met with Afghan president Hamid Karzai, the Head of ISAF and U.S. Forces Afghanistan Gen. Stanley McChrystal and U.S. soldiers at Bagram Air Base.
Iraq Iraq	Baghdad	January 26	January 27	McCain met with Iraqi president Jalal Talabani and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to discuss the upcoming parliamentary election due March 7, 2010. He will also visit U.S. soldiers fighting in the Iraq War.
Georgia Georgia	Batumi	January 27		McCain attended a ceremony, where he was awarded the Order of the National Hero of Georgia for his strong support for Georgia during the 2008 Georgia-Russia War by Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili.
United Kingdom United Kingdom	London	January 28		McCain attended the conference on Afghanistan held at Lancaster House in London, where members of the international community discussed the further progress on the Petersberg agreement from 2001 on the democratization of Afghanistan after the ousting of the Taliban regime.

February

No foreign trips made.

March

Country	Areas visited	Start	End	Notes
Afghanistan	Kabul	March 2	March 3	In Kabul, McCain met with Afghan president Hamid Karzai, the Head of ISAF and U.S. Forces Afghanistan Gen. Stanley McChrystal, where he discussed the progress of Operation Moshtarak, the campaign against corruption in Afghanistan as well as address the issue of civilian casualties. The next day, he travelled to the Helmand province, where he visited the city of Lashkar Gah, the British-Danish Camp Bastion, U.S., Afghan and British troops participating in Operation Moshtarak as well as a flag raising ceremony in the newly secured Marjah.

April

Country	Areas visited	Start	End	Notes
Czech Republic	Prague	April 8	April 9	McCain traveled to Prague, Czech Republic, to sign the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. The next day he met with Czech President Václav Klaus and Prime Minister Jan Fischer at the Hradčany in Prague. Among the issues discussed were the War in Afghanistan, the missile defence shield as well as economic and energy issues.
Poland	Kraków	April 18	April 19	McCain attended the funeral of late president Lech Kaczyński in Kraków, who died in a plane crash outside of Smolensk, Russia on April 10, 2010.

May

No foreign trips made.

July

Country	Areas visited	Start	End	Notes
Afghanistan	Prague	July 4, 2010		John McCain and his wife Cindy made a surprise visit to Afghanistan, flying on Air Force One to Bagram Air Base, and then onflew on by helicopter to the Presidential Palace in Kabul to meet with President Hamid Karzai to discuss the ongoing War in Afghanistan. During his visit, McCain also celebrated America's Independence Day with U.S. troops at Bagram Air Base, including U.S. troops in Kandahar Province.
Iraq	Baghdad	July 5, 2010		McCain and his wife Cindy would continue their Independence Day holiday travel to Iraq, meeting with U.S. troops at a base outside of the capital Baghdad. McCain would then meet separately with both Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and his chief challenger, former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi.
Denmark	Copenhagen	July 6-7, 2010		State visit. John and Cindy McCain met with Queen Margrethe II at the Royal Palace. McCain visited the Danish Parliament (Folketinget), and later met with Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, and discussed the War in Afghanistan, energy policy as well as global warming.
Norway	Oslo	July 7-8, 2010		State visit. John and Cindy McCain met with King Harald V at the Royal Palace and Prime Minister Siv Jensen. McCain visited the Norwegian Parliament (Stortinget) and the Museum of National Defence on Akershus Festning (Akershus Castle). In his discussiosn with Prime Minister Jensen, they discussed the War in Afghanistan, where McCain expressed his personal condolences to the four Norwegian soldiers killed on June 27, 2010. Other issues discussed were energy policy and oil industry in particular, the Arctic theatre and the relationship with Russia, including the Russo-Norwegian Accord on the Barents Sea.
United Kingdom	London	July 9, 2010		McCain met with newly elected Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron, where he would again congratulate him with his election victory, praising for forming a coalition government and his policies of economic responsibility in times of crisis. Discussions focused on the economy, the War in Afghanistan, energy policy and climate change.

Scheduled trips

Country	Areas visited	Start	End	Notes
New Zealand New Zealand	Wellington	June 2010		McCain will meet Prime Minister John Key.
Australia Australia	Sydney and Canberra	June 2010		McCain will meet Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.
Indonesia Indonesia	Jakarta	June 2010		McCain will meet President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
Afghanistan	Kabul and Kandahar	TBA		McCain will meet President Hamid Karzai as well as U.S. and ISAF forces in Afghanistan.
Canada	Ontario	June 25, 2010	June 27, 2010	36th G8 summit.
Canada	Ottawa	TBA		North American Leaders´ Summit.
Portugal	Lisbon	TBA		22nd NATO Summit.
South Korea	Seoul	TBA		G20 Summit.
South Korea Japan	Yokohama	December 13, 2010	December 14, 2010	APEC Japan 2010.

See also

• Step in a Different Direction