Consul Generals,
Honorary Consuls,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is my pleasure and privilege to welcome you here today. Welcome to our Town Hall, and as to the new full time” Consul Generals: welcome in the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg. Many of you have already familiarized yourselves with your new tasks. But I am sure that you all have taken to our cosmopolitan city which attaches great importance to its international relations.

Some of you were able to join in the summer excursion for heads of consulate, when a trip round the port offered insights into the many doings and dealings that are performed here. I was privileged to welcome some of you at the town hall only recently. It is always a pleasure to welcome each new face and we do hope that you are happy here in the city and are successful in your work.

There are 102 consulates in Hamburg. This number also says something about the variety of Hamburg’s global relations, which have been cherished and expanded ever since the days of the Hanseatic League. This internationality is as typical for Hamburg” as grey skies in winter, sometimes.

Therefore it comes as no surprise that not only Hamburg’s business and political communities take such great interest in your work, but the general public as well. That was vividly illustrated by the renewed success of the Long Night of the Consulates” in May. Visitors were delighted, whether they went to the Indonesian Consulate, for instance, enjoying music and traditional dances, or admired the calligraphy exhibition at the Consulate of The Republic of Korea, or simply sampled food and drink from around the world.

On that evening in May, many consulates and culture facilities opened their doors to the people of Hamburg; diplomats and staff took the time to meet and talk with their visitors personally.  Another Long Night” has already been scheduled for 2015: many thanks for your dedication and willingness to open your doors!

Ladies and Gentlemen,
We are undergoing exciting times. But this year has also been one of global crises and worrying conflicts. Some events remind us of the Cold War era. In a year like this, diplomacy and your representations play an role of particular importance.

The global crises are having an effect on Hamburg too. The number of refugees has again increased this year. Every month, from all corners of the world, Hamburg receives about 600 people seeking help, even more in recent months. In order to provide appropriate housing for these refugees, we are currently creating accommodation for 5,000 people, in addition to those who live in Hamburg already. We are also speeding up the process of examining applications to the right of abode or residence.

I never tire of saying that Hamburg is, in my view, an arrival city, and welcomes those who wish to live here. I should like to stress: this applies equally to refugees, even though their applications are carefully examined. We do what we can do in order to make what is often a very difficult situation as bearable as possible and to offer these newcomers a perspective.

It is therefore helpful if we can keep alive a climate of tolerance and acceptance in Hamburg. The city pursues an active immigration policy and promotes mutual support for everyone living in Hamburg, irrespective of where they or their ancestors originally come from. We are strongly committed to education and integrating people into the workforce.

Hamburg is not only international in respect of global relations, but also in its internal fabric: almost one Hamburg schoolchild in two has family roots in a different country. That is another reason why we see integration as a task that affects all of society, and a challenge to be met. And we explicitly invite all those who fulfil the conditions to become naturalized citizens.

We are not trying to head-hunt! To date, with a certain degree of success, we have advocated double tracked” options and an end to the obligation to choose between nationalities.

We want Hamburg to remain a liveable city for everyone and to develop accordingly. Only prosperity makes that possible. It is the basis on which we can create good living conditions and allow the city to grow in every possible way, without causing society to splinter.

As you all know, Hamburg Port is a key player in the city’s economy. We have made good progress to all intents and purposes with our project to make those modifications to the navigation channel that will permit modern container ships to continue sailing the Elbe from Cuxhaven to Hamburg. Ten years of planning to think through every detail of modifying the navigation channel are behind this ambitious project, and at every stage we took pains to consider environmental aspects we have done a great deal in this respect. We are now awaiting a ruling from the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg and hope that we can go ahead with this project in spring 2015.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
As you see, things do not always go exactly according to plan, not even in Hamburg. But there’s more than one way to reach a goal. Athletes would confirm that; they can tell us about the perseverance it takes to be picked for the national Olympic team let alone win a medal. About setbacks caused by injury or being in and out of the team, and the elation when everything turns out well on the track, field or pitch.

Hamburg intends to make a bid to host the Olympic Games. Some of you know from experience what that means: Greece was the host nation in 2004, not for the first time, of course; Italy was the 2006 winter games venue; it is 26 years since the Olympics in Seoul, but in 2018 Korea is again inviting the youth of the world.

In Hamburg we would like to see the games, not only for all citizens but also with the citizens, whose commitment and engagement will support and carry the event.
 
By the way, even though our bid for 2012 was unsuccessful, the fact that we had tendered was good for the city.  For example, it greatly speeded up development of the southern districts of the city a process known as the Leap across the Elbe”. The International Building Exhibition and the International Garden Show 2013 on the Elbe Islands were inspired by this bid.

Therefore, as the Mayor of the Hanseatic City of Hamburg, I am pleased to be able to welcome 13 new heads of consulate today. You represent countries both near and far. You are from Poland, the Czech Republic, Greece, Italy and Montenegro. New representatives have been appointed for Venezuela, Peru and Panama; for Korea, Indonesia, India, Singapore and Jamaica.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am looking forward to working with you. These may be difficult times, but that is all the more reason to wish you success and a good, rewarding time in Hamburg.

Thank you very much.

Es gilt das gesprochene Wort.