Prime Minister,
Governing Mayor,
Ministers,
State Secretary,
Ladies and gentlemen,

Allow me to add my voice, and that of the German Government, to warmly welcome you, Prime Minister, and all your team to Berlin. It has taken a long time to plan this investors conference. I am very glad to see it realized here in the Hotel Maritim and to know that we can start work this evening in front of the backdrop of the ever-impressive city of Doha. I have fond memories of my last visit to Qatar, and would ask you to pass on my best wishes to the Emir.

In terms of area, Qatar is a relatively small country – I hope you don’t mind my saying so, Prime Minister – about half the size of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the federal state in which my own constituency lies. If we consider Qatar’s role on the world stage, however, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania doesn’t look quite so big any more. We are therefore particularly pleased to have the opportunity to welcome you here.

Just looking at the way this country has altered since gaining independence in 1971, it is easy to see how significant the changes have been. I remember, with the Emir, seeing a picture of pearl divers from only a few generations ago standing at the water’s edge. There wasn’t much of the Doha we all know today in the background. Now, Qatar is the world’s biggest exporter of liquid gas and ranks among the most prosperous countries. It is taking on international responsibility – as the Prime Minister mentioned – through a large number of initiatives.

That is why we will have a good opportunity tomorrow, Prime Minister, to talk about the international conflicts you touched on just now. Like you, I too believe that stability is prerequisite to economic prosperity. That means we have a lot still to do, not least in your region, and it means we will keep on trying to find joint solutions and roads we can walk together – be it on Iran’s nuclear programme; on progress in the Middle East peace process, in which I advocate a two-state solution with a Jewish State of Israel and a Palestinian state; or on the terrible human catastrophes which remain unresolved in Syria and on which the international community is regrettably not taking the concerted action we expect of our Security Council. I spoke about the same things in my recent meeting with President Putin, and we are in touch with China too.

Qatar has been assuming positions of global responsibility time and again, not least by hosting major conferences. The UN Climate Change Conference held in Doha late last year was one example. Another is the 2022 FIFA World Cup, which will be drawing many eyes to Qatar in less than a decade. I think the people of Germany will be among the many who will be getting to know Qatar and its various facets better than ever before when that time comes. I have fond memories of our encounters and the great hospitality one finds in your country.

Germany is one of Qatar’s most important EU trading partners. I do know, however – and this makes me particularly glad to have an investors conference held in Germany – that your traditional relations to Paris and London are very highly developed. Just like you, I therefore think our own relations have got plenty of potential for further growth. Qatar is one of Germany’s most important business partners in the Gulf. We have brought our volume of trade up to two billion euros – but we want to develop our economic relations even more.

As Berlin’s Governing Mayor was just pointing out, for example, cooperation with the German capital is coming along. The fact that we have gathered in a hotel which is now actually Qatari-owned shows just how varied our cooperation is.

There are many ways in which our economies complement one another marvellously. German businesses are bringing their technological expertise and their international experience to bear to make a crucial contribution to the development of infrastructure and industry in Qatar. Meanwhile, Qatar’s involvement in large German companies with long traditions demonstrates your faith in us as reliable partners.

What’s more, energy supplies from Qatar are playing an increasingly major role in keeping Germany supplied with gas. Gas is a key source of energy in this country. Fossil fuels have naturally been regaining significance now that we are phasing out nuclear power. Looking at the Climate Change Conference, it is clear that gas, producing as it does very little CO2, is a viable fuel for the future. We are going to need fossil fuels for a while yet as we transition to renewables. This means gas remains – and I emphasis this – a very attractive fuel for Germany. We are of course also interested in diversifying supply. We can well imagine working more closely with Qatar on liquefied gas, for instance. After all, German business is already successfully involved in gas production in Qatar, as represented by Wintershall Holding GmbH.

That said, I also believe there is potential for cooperating on renewable energy, given that Qatar, like Germany, has set itself ambitious goals for developing renewables. German industry has outstanding expertise to offer in this area. Pleasingly, a whole range of impressive joint ventures are already under way. One example is the collaboration between SolarWorld and the Qatar Foundation to produce polysilicon for the manufacture of solar cells. I think we should build on such examples, not least through joint research projects in the renewables field. I believe that will be one of the things we have a chance to discuss tomorrow.

However, it would be totally wrong at this time to reduce Germany and Qatar’s relations to energy cooperation alone. We know that Qatar is planning investment in many different areas; the Prime Minister has just spoken about it. Crucial roles in some of those major projects are being played by German planners, architects, construction companies and such players as Siemens and Deutsche Bahn. We are proud of that involvement, and we look forward to our continued collaboration. It means that a showcase of German providers’ technological expertise, experience and reliability is available on the ground in Qatar. That in itself is a constant recommendation for further joint ventures – from rail network development to the mammoth project of preparing the 2022 World Cup.

What is particularly important for German companies getting involved in Qatar – just as everywhere else – is that there be fair and transparent tendering procedures and a reliable legal framework. That will be on our agenda tomorrow too. What is already good can still be made better – and the Business and Investment Forum, I am convinced, will be a good opportunity to discuss a lot of the details.

The choice of Berlin as the location for this event is also evidence of Qatari interest in Germany as somewhere to invest. Let me take this chance to assure you that Qatari investment is very welcome in this country. Your companies will find good conditions here. Germany is an attractive place for investors. From traditional areas of industry like mechanical engineering and automobiles to forward-looking sectors like environmental or medical technology, we are proud to say that many German companies enjoy top positions in the world markets.

There are good reasons why our businesses are so fit for global competition. One, in my view, is that German companies can innovate so well. We place great emphasis on education, research and development. With the German Government’s High-Tech Strategy, there are also good levels of cooperation between the political and economic spheres. We have started an innovation dialogue, in which we regularly examine the synergies between state and private funding. Germany is very pleased to be spending 2.9% of GDP on research and innovation. That figure includes both state funding and private investment. I would like to thank all the investors and all the companies in Germany who are playing their part in it.

We have a qualified and highly motivated workforce. Germany’s system of vocational training has proved very well suited to building up an industrial edifice – a view we have been sharing in EU discussions too. Our infrastructure is sound and legal certainty is high. We have of course also been working hard in many areas over recent years to make Germany a leading competitor. A great number of people in Germany have contributed to those efforts. A salient example is the way our system of employers and employees having a voice in decision-making has helped ensure that unit labour costs have developed sensibly.

This in turn has meant that we have been relatively well placed to weather the international financial and economic crisis, which did engulf us as an exporting nation. Our economy shrank by 5% in 2009; that had never happened in the history of the Federal Republic. Thanks to an intelligent mix of entrepreneurial action, responsible union representation and public stimulus packages, we have nonetheless managed to regrow our economy to above pre-crisis levels – something that not all EU countries have achieved as yet.

Alongside this, we have seen very positive developments on the labour market. We had an average of 41.6 million people employed in 2012, over 2.6 million more than when I became Chancellor in 2005. Our unemployment rate is lower than it has been for more than 20 years. And we have one of the lowest rates of youth unemployment in Europe.

I should mention that our growth rates have nonetheless returned to less than satisfactory levels. That is connected to the fact that European developments still have a lot of obstacles to overcome. I would therefore like to take this opportunity, Prime Minister, to reiterate to you and your team that Germany will do everything it can to ensure not only that Germany develops positively but that the whole eurozone does too. That is our responsibility. The euro is in Germany’s interest. That is why we are supplementing the many structural reforms with a panoply of solidarity measures for our European partners, particularly our partners within the eurozone.

The eurozone and the EU can only be successful – we are convinced – if we are competitive. Even at the best of times, 90% of worldwide growth takes place outside Europe these days. Europe is a continent that enjoys high levels of development but also faces a lot of demographic challenges. We therefore need to set store by becoming gradually more and more competitive. Germany and the entire German Government are working to make that happen.

This means not only generating growth – sustainable growth backed by sound finances – but also continuing to develop our European Monetary Union. The next step is joint banking supervision and joint responsibility for our financial institutions. We have adopted a fiscal compact. Beyond that, we need stronger coordination on economic policy – which we will be discussing in the coming months as heads of state and government.

I am telling you this to illustrate that, though you are more than welcome here in Germany, we do always consider ourselves part of Europe and have as firm a belief in the EU’s future as we have in our own. They are, if you will, two sides of the same coin.

Qatar and Germany established diplomatic relations 40 years ago. A great deal of mutual trust has grown in the intervening four decades. Our partnership extends far beyond economic cooperation. I have spoken about foreign-policy challenges. We also enjoy cultural and scientific exchange. Those are solid foundations for us to build on. This investors conference is thus taking place at a really fitting time.

I would like to thank every single one of you for taking the time, for coming here to be part of it, and I hope you all have excellent discussions. Where politics can play a useful role, we intend to do so. I look forward to our lunchtime talk tomorrow, Prime Minister – perhaps you will already have some first impressions of this Forum to share with me then.

I wish you good discussions and all the best. Thank you very much for the opportunity to be here at this launch.