President Gilfillan,
Secretary Naruse,
Vice President Duden,
President Melsheimer,
Mr Meier,
Members of the consular corps,
Ladies and gentlemen,

please let me welcome all of you most cordially. The Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg feels honoured to be this year’s venue for the International Association of Ports and Harbours' 29th conference.

What is to be found here? First of all, as we hope, there’s our thriving city itself, cosmopolitan to the core. We daresay we are making tracks in good pace in such widely differing fields as housing space, our schools and universities, urban transport and the services of our public authorities and the offers of cultural institutions. Not forgetting the rivers and forests, and a good deal of wildlife we still have within our city boundaries. So, being used to seagulls, beware of beavers and racoons too.

Generally speaking, our virtues will apply to the entire metropolitan region ere long which is home to five million people and two and a half million workers already.

We want Hamburg to offer scope for technical innovation, constantly asking ourselves how we can do things better. Which makes me jump ship right away and proceed to our port, which has been one of the biggest and most important in the world for centuries. Tradition, however, will not carry us any further unless we accept the challenge of evolution and get real, meaning smart.

That's what our own Hamburg Port Authority, the shipping companies, the haulers and shunters and all kinds of waterfront businesses and their employees are dealing with now.

For just as we had to cope, and did so, with the disruption caused by the advent of container shipping long ago, so we are now using digital techniques which are getting more and more distinguished in Smart Port logistics. There is no other way to ensure that the harbour remains the vigorously beating heart of business and industry in the centre of our city.

Hamburg Port simply must keep up with the tidal waves of change and remain one of the most important hubs of trade in Europe. After all, we handle around 140 million tonnes of sea freight anually. We’re Germany’s biggest port and one of the leading ones in Europe, serving numerous places and regions upstream as well.

Senator Horch, as I know him, will most likely go into a couple of the vital details tomorrow when this conference will be officially opened. He will also, as you may expect, give an account on what is more than just a detail in this context: the adjustment of the fairway of the Lower and Outer Elbe. I do not want to anticipate too much tonight but what I can promise is, we will continue to defy whatever setbacks there have been. And I am very optimistic good reason will prevail at last.
 
In Hamburg, sea cargo handling is functioning smoothly and on a high quality level. Our port infrastructure and facilities will be upgraded continually.

Ladies and gentlemen,
Hamburg is a major industrial location, too, one of the biggest in Europe. At the same time the tertiary sector is growing and offering ever more services to business, thanks to the terrific strides information and communications technologies are taking.

And another thing. Growth depends on the ability to innovate and it is only logical that local businesses, universities, associations and the Senate cooperate closely in order to make progress in this field. Not only does Hamburg see itself as Germany’s wind power capital. Equally as important are materials science, lasers, nanotechnology, marine technology and the fields of mobility and logistics. Plus, of course, the aviation industry which we support by creating a suitable environment. For instance, there is the Hamburg Aviation cluster, and our own research programme, the german Lufo.

A fundamental element in our innovation strategy has to be a successful cluster policy, and we have realized that this is the only way to attract and retain companies and skilled workers.

Hamburg stands by its promise to be of assistance whatever beneficial endeavours enterprising people want to embark on.

I wish you a pleasant sojourn in Hamburg. Thank you.

Es gilt das gesprochene Wort.