Doyen of the Diplomatic Corps,
Consuls,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
To welcome 11 new heads of consulate to Hamburg is a happy occasion for me and the City. Hamburg maintains international relations with a wide range of countries and has more consulates than most cities in the world something we are rather proud of. At the moment, the official representatives of 98 states, and people from 180 nations live here so Hamburg is a truly cosmopolitan city.
Most of you will already be familiar with the city, but the new position will doubtless involve new aspects. And if Hamburg is quite new to you, we hope no, we are practically sure that you will enjoy living in Hamburg as much as we do. But be that as it may, I extend our warm welcome to every one of you taking up a new position in our beautiful Hanseatic city.
The year 2015 is drawing to a close and if we review the past year, we cannot help but see it framed by the Paris attacks the first in January and the second in November. Tunisia was also rocked by two attacks this year. The effects of terror, wars and unresolved conflicts, such as that in the Ukraine, are keenly felt in Hamburg, where every day continues to bring a fresh influx of refugees and, quite apart from all the suffering involved, these issues also have an impact on our trade relations.
In a situation such as this, it is important for foreign nationals to be able to approach a contact in Hamburg, and for the consulates to build bridges and fulfil their role in establishing good relations. Because we will not allow ourselves to be blown off course: we shall continue to succeed in fostering and expanding our peaceful, constructive international relations in many different areas, just as we have done throughout 2015.
This year, we were delighted to receive several visiting dignitaries and heads of state. We welcomed the presidents of Bulgaria, Honduras and Bolivia; the Dutch King and Queen and the Danish Crown Prince and Princess; in February the then president of Poland visited Hamburg and was our guest at the traditional Matthias Feast.
We too, have undertaken several trips abroad. As the mayor of this city, I accompanied delegations on visits to our sister cities of St. Petersburg, Prague and Shanghai and to Chinas capital, Beijing. Hamburg, the site of one of the worlds major ports, regards the Chinese Silk Road initiative One Belt One Road as an opportunity to significantly advance the process of adapting international trade routes so that they meet todays requirements.
As you know, Japan is one of our major trading partners and a long friendship links our countries. In 2016 Japan is upgrading its consulate and from January will once again be represented in our city by a Consulate General we were pleased to hear of this decision.
We in Hamburg are aware of our opportunities and responsibilities in this world. Granting humanitarian aid to refugees is among these responsibilities, as is the need to rapidly integrate those who are allowed to stay by, for example, ensuring that children are able to attend regular schools as soon as possible, that young people learn vocational skills and adults gain the qualifications they require for a job. Moreover, we aim to build around 5,600 extra dwellings next year, so as to give the people permitted to stay a perspective for the longer term.
The City is doing what it can, but we need support in many fields. In our current situation I thank you, the consular corps, very much for being reliably available when we need to contact you about many different concerns.
I should also like to say thank-you to everyone who helped to make the Long Night of the Consulates such an informative and entertaining event; in fact, we are already looking forward to the next Long Night in May 2016. The residents of Hamburg gladly accept your invitation because they are interested to know more about the work that consulates do. It has now become a tradition to invite the consular corps to annual tours around major enterprises or institutions in Hamburg, thus offering the diplomats a chance to look behind the scenes. In September there was a tour around the Elbphilharmonie the official opening of our new concert hall and iconic element of the skyline is scheduled for January 2017. Some of you who have only recently arrived were able to use the September meeting to become better acquainted with the corps, and others will have an opportunity to network at the Senate reception about to follow.
I am delighted to be able to meet you again and wish the new heads of consulate all the best in their new positions.
Thank you very much.
Es gilt das gesprochene Wort.