He was named to the advisory group after it was set up by Tony Abbott and Ms Merkel a year ago.
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Ms Merkel and Mr Turnbull, review an honour guard during a welcoming ceremony.
“The chancellor has the situation under control and the overall government too”, she said in an interview with ZDF broadcaster.
Merkel has displayed moral leadership on accepting Syrian refugees but is facing dissent within her ruling coalition about how to deal with the large influx from Syria.
“A political solution is required and I am pleased to note that the second round of the Vienna talks will take place tomorrow, not only with Russian Federation and the United States of America being present but also Iran and Saudi Arabia being at the table”, she said.
Mr Turnbull was more blunt, saying while Australia had its policy, it was not his position to lecture others and the circumstances in Europe were different. “I think this is a matter for the German government as it is for the Australian government to manage in their own way”.
He also discussed with Dr Merkel the bid by German company ThyssenKrupp to build Australia’s next fleet of submarines. In their talks overnight Friday Australian time, Ms Merkel put her case to Mr Turnbull.
The Interior Ministry said on Tuesday that Germany has been sending refugees back to the first European Union country in which they registered since October 21 – a return to the Dublin Regulation that Merkel suspended in late August with her open-arms policy.
The document contains a number of recommendations for strengthening business and strategic ties between the two countries.
The leaders will receive a report of an advisory group, involving Finance Minister Mathias Cormann and Lucy Turnbull who are also on the trip.
The report released by Mr Turnbull and Ms Merkel recommends more collaboration between such agencies, more so given Fraunhofer is a world leader in commercialising research while Australia is very bad at it.
“You asked me about Mr Putin and Mr Obama in terms of Syria, the one thing that is perfectly clear there and perhaps I’d leave the rest of this to the Chancellor but one thing that is perfectly clear in Syria, that the solution will ultimately be a political one”, he said.
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Government sources said this could lend support to separate negotiations on a free-trade agreement between Australia and the EU.
