The embassy of Germany in Turkmenistan hosted on 3 October 2024 a reception to mark the Day of German Unity.
The Day of German Unity (German Unity Day) is the National Day of Germany, celebrated on 3 October as a public holiday. It commemorates German reunification in 1990 when the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) joined the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany), so that for the first time since 1945 there existed a single German state. German Unity Day on 3 October has been the German National Holiday since 1990, when the reunification was formally completed.
Here is the speech of Ambassador Bernd Heinze on the occasion:
Dear Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan, Mr Atdayev,
Excellencies, dear fellow countrymen, dear colleagues,
Honourable ladies and gentlemen,
It is a great pleasure for me to celebrate the German National Day, the Day of German Unity, together with you for the first time since I took office in Turkmenistan.
Today we are commemorating the 34th anniversary of the reunification of Germany on 3 October 1990. For 41 years – until 1990 – my country was divided against its will into two German states and two completely different political, economic and social systems. But the Germans’ longing for unity in freedom was stronger and culminated in German reunification.
We are deeply grateful to all those who made this reunification possible. And we hope that it can serve as an orientation for all those countries that are also divided against their will or are in the process of being divided while striving for unity in freedom.
Last week, I had the honour of celebrating the 33rd anniversary of Turkmenistan’s independence with you. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate you once again. The Day of German Unity, which we are celebrating today, and your independence are closely linked by history: both were only made possible by the end of communist rule in the former Soviet Union.
The reunified Germany wants to be a helpful and reliable partner for Turkmenistan. We are strengthening our excellent co-operation with you, which is based on mutual respect and trust, in business, culture, education and many other areas.
Last week, the German company Claas handed over 50 agricultural vehicles to Turkmenistan on the occasion of your country’s Independence Day. The chairwoman of the company’s supervisory board, Mrs Claas-Mühlhäuser, who attended the handover in person, is also the head of the German Committee on Eastern European Economic Relations. It is the largest regional initiative of the German economy and Turkmenistan is one of its partners. Her visit was a powerful and strategic signal that shows the opportunities that German businesses see in your country with its internationally recognised political neutrality, its distinctive cultural identity and its economic potential. I am also very pleased that the bilateral intergovernmental working group on business and trade will resume its work in Berlin on 5 November 2024. And finally, I firmly believe that the industrial cluster in the city of Arkadag will attract great interest from German companies.
Our cooperation is also booming in the healthcare sector. Last year, a Turkmen-German medical forum, which was set up at the suggestion of your national leader, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, began its work. The German embassy in Ashgabat issues around 150 visas a year for Turkmen doctors alone, who visit German hospitals or take part in training courses. German doctors regularly travel to Turkmenistan. And German medical specialists install medical equipment from Germany in Turkmen hospitals and then train Turkmen doctors in its use. We are grateful for the extremely high level of trust that the German healthcare sector has been enjoying in Turkmenistan for decades.
But we are also deepening the contacts between our people. We are proud of the growing interest in the German language in Turkmenistan. We are creating more teaching programmes for more than 50,000 German learners in Turkmenistan. We are expanding Turkmen-German academic cooperation, which currently comprises four university partnerships with Germany. And the German Foreign Office is promoting the participation of Turkmen participants in its international diplomatic training programme.
However, we must not stop at this level of relations. That is why Germany concluded the first ever strategic partnership with a region – Central Asia – at the first summit of Central Asian heads of state with Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin in September 2023. The second summit took place in Astana on 17 September this year. We are delighted that President Serdar Berdimuhamedow also took part. Turkmenistan benefits from the joint declaration in many areas. And we are already looking forward to the participation of your esteemed Foreign Minister Meredov in the joint meeting of foreign ministers of the five Central Asian states and Germany in February 2025, which will further substantiate the joint declaration.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Our world is being shaped by major challenges: Climate change, water shortages, migration and conflicts. To overcome them, we need international cooperation and solidarity more than ever. Turkmenistan and Germany will work together to build a better future in peace, freedom and prosperity.
I raise my glass to the Turkmen-German friendship. /// nCa, 4 October 2024
Here are some pictures from the event:
