Cocktail & Dinner with Mr Frank König

Mr König, 

Ladies and Gentlemen,

thank you very much, Mr HamburgAmbassador, for the kind invitation and hospitality of yours,

on behalf of the entire Hamburg Delegation and myself. We appreciate tonight´s break, in between towns, so to speak, having left one most thrilling big city, New Delhi, for the next one, Mumbai.

Halfway through a series of most rewarding discussions and consultations I feel free to confide that the working title of this endeavor was, quote: Hunting Tigers Out in India”.

Mind you, nobody in Hamburg would ever think of those beautiful animals still being hunted over here. Nor even going near one himself.

But we do feel the thrill of the chase. 

It is a chase for information, a chase for intellectual and sensual perception of what is developing in this fascinating country which is truly on the move.

I am greatly impressed by the friendly people I have met here. I have had excellent interviews with partners from India, I have come to know ideas for economic development and I have perceived the great ambition in the scientific sector.

India and Hamburg have been enjoying friendly political relations and close economic contacts for quite some time. These, however, have not come out of the blue.

It always takes people who take charge. And tonight I should like to thank you, Mr König, for tirelessly taking charge and looking after Hamburg´s concerns in Mumbai.

In the course of your career, you have seen Indonesia, Japan, Korea. In all those places you have been able to connect people. And the same you are doing here so successfully.

Personal ties may just be the most important part of the entire design of the bridge connecting us. Let us just knot some more such ties tonight. 

Thank you.

The spoken word applies.