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October 3, 2008
HP-1178 Deputy Secretary Kimmitt Remarks at Reception to Celebrate the Day of German Unity Washington – Herr Botschafter, Frau Scharioth, liebe Gäste, ladies & gentlemen:
Thank you, Ambassador Scharioth, for the honor of speaking at tonight's event. I would like to wish the Federal Republic and its citizens einen glücklichen Tag der Deutschen Einheit. And I join Ambassador Scharioth in thanking tonight's sponsors for their support.
Remarkably, almost two decades have passed since the fall of the Wall. Those of us who came of age during the Cold War still pause on this day to marvel at what Germany has achieved – as a foundation stone of modern Europe, a strong transatlantic partner, and a leading global citizen.
I attended the inaugural German Unity Day celebration in Hamburg in October 1991, as the first American Ambassador appointed to a united Germany in over 50 years. But my ties to Germany go back much further. Like nearly one-quarter of the American population, my family has roots in Germany. My mother's family emigrated from Lippe-Detmold near Hannover in the 19th century. My father fought in Europe during World War II, and he and my mother, an American Red Cross volunteer, met and married in Berlin in 1947. Like almost 15 million Americans, I later lived in Germany as an American military dependent and served as an American military officer. These personal ties bind Germany and America in a very special way and have shaped our mutually beneficial partnership for decades.
In addition to these personal connections, our economic and financial ties have helped us surmount infrequent but serious periods of difficulty in our political and security relationship.
Germany is our largest trading partner within the European Union and is the third largest investor in the United States, supporting over 650,000 American jobs. Robert Bosch, whose North American CEO Peter Marks will speak next, operates 70 facilities in the United States and employs 17,500 American workers. In Germany, U.S. companies are responsible for 800,000 German jobs. Honeywell, also one of tonight's sponsors, operates 17 facilities in Germany and employs 5,600 German workers.
We are also seeing the creation of cutting-edge relationships that are deepening our commercial ties. GE Wind Energy, which takes advantage of Germany's emphasis on fostering clean energy technologies, has developed off-shore wind-power generation in Germany. And Q-Cells, a German-U.S. joint venture, is the largest solar cell manufacturer in the world. To encourage such activity in the future, at the April 2007 EU-U.S. Summit, Chancellor Merkel and President Bush initiated the Transatlantic Economic Council, whose goal is to reduce regulatory obstacles to trade and investment in the transatlantic marketplace.
We gather together tonight in the midst of difficult economic times. The turmoil in financial markets is a worldwide challenge, which must be addressed both globally and locally. In addition to actions we have taken in the United States, including today's important vote in the House of Representatives, Germany and the United States have cooperated extensively in the Financial Stability Forum and through the G-7. Germany has also responded with actions of its own, and European leaders gather tomorrow to consider further measures.
As we move forward through these difficult times, Germany and the United States will continue to work together to relieve stress in the credit markets, stabilize the global financial system, and encourage new opportunities for economic growth and job creation, both at home and abroad. Today, as in the past, we will draw on the depth and strength of our relationship to accomplish more together than we ever could alone.
Thank you, und einen schönen Abend an allen Gästen.
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