Today, on 3rd of October, we Germans commemorate the 31st anniversary of the reunification of West and East Germany. On this “Day of German Unity”, we are celebrating the fortunate events around the fall of the Berlin wall. The events of 1989/90 brought unity, freedom and the rule of law to the former Eastern part - the fundamentals for every democracy, be it in Europe, in Asia or any other part of our world.

2021 has been an extremely challenging year for all of us. I wished I could say that the worst lies behind us, however nobody can tell. There is no end in sight. The challenges ahead of us are a Herculean task, requiring strong and coordinated action. Action not only by governments, what is needed is solidarity of all peoples, joining together in order to amplify collective impact.

It is just one week ago that the German people were called upon to vote a new Parliament. The 16-year long era of Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has held office since 2005, is about to come to an end. Some go so far as to say that Angela Merkel’s chancellorship was of historic nature. First woman chancellor in German history; first chancellor from the former East Germany; longest-serving chancellor (shared with Helmut Kohl). Historic or not: During Angela Merkel’s 16 years of chancellorship, the reunited Germany proved to be a reliable partner to the world and a major pillar of the European Union. In Germany, we have always believed in a strong and united Europe. No matter who the new German chancellor will be, he – as there are only male candidates - will be a committed pro-European, too.

As German Ambassador to Sri Lanka, I am looking very much forward to further improving the strong, 68 years old bilateral relations between Germany and Sri Lanka. The – first ever – official political consultations on 14th July 2021 were a prime example for the state of our bilateral relations. Although not agreeing on every issue, we were able to have an extremely open debate on all issues. This is something only possible among friends.

Let me conclude by underscoring that Germany always stands ready to support Sri Lanka on its way into a hopefully bright future. Let’s tackle the challenges ahead of us together.

Ambassador Holger Seubert