Deputy Prime Minister al-Zadma,

Excellencies,

Colleagues,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Dear friends,

It is my pleasure to welcome you to this reception marking the occasion of the German day of unity. Germany, being partitioned due to its disastrous policies which brought tremendous suffering on many other peoples, waited for 40 years to be reunited. The fall of the Berlin wall and the day of unity therefore maybe the two happiest days of our country’s history.

Germans know too well what it means to live with divided institutions and Germans very well understands the longing of Libyans for a unified country. Our own experience, however, teaches us that unity is not a single moment, but a long and sometimes steep road – one that requires reconciliation, a readiness to work for the greater good, and the patience to rebuild trust step by step.

In Germany, we have learned that the needs of the people need to take center stage to avoid frustration.

There is no better way than free and fair elections to express the will of the people. With the agreement stemming from the Small Convening, Libya is now moving towards an important milestone on its way to free and fair elections on a national level and towards the unified government Libyans so dearly long for.

I would like to congratulate UNSMIL and its leadership for its great mediation work on this Libyan-owned and Libyan-led path. As it was the case for Germany, this path will continue to pose challenges for Libya and Libyans and it will demand a strong spirit of compromise from all stakeholders. As a friend of Libya, we are here to support you on this path. Through the Berlin Process, Germany has worked tirelessly to bring the international community behind UN-facilitated, Libyan-led transition efforts. And we stand ready to assist in future efforts, also by further mediation work within the Berlin process – if Libya and UNSMIL deem it helpful. But foreign actors can only assist – and should all respect an important principle of the Berlin process: non-interference. Yet, we need Libyan leaders to move forward, to be bold, to compromise.

Another lesson my country’s experience taught us, is that all parts of the country need to feel represented in political decision-making.

Obviously, this includes the people in the South of this beautiful country. I am therefore particularly happy to welcome H.E. Deputy Prime Minister al-Zadma as guest of honor today.

We take pride in our extensive cooperation with municipalities all over Libya, not only in Tripoli, Misrata or Benghazi but also in Ghadames, in Sabha and Wadi Al Bawanis, where our projects are implemented. Together with local authorities we are providing trainings and advisory services on such topics as waste management, local economic development and improving public services– and at the same time aiming at empowering women and youth in ensuring their participation in decision-making processes and economic activities. Our support aims at meeting the people’s demands right where they arise and where decision-makers know best how to tackle them. Strong municipalities are essential for long term stability.

Germany supports very different sectors such as healthcare e.g. by training staff from Primary Health Care Centers or supporting Libya’s Renewable Energy Transition. But while we stand ready to cooperate in a broad array of fields, we actually cannot wait to take our economic relations to a new level.

The huge turnout of German companies at the 5^th German Libyan Business Forum in May is testament of the tremendous interest of German companies to expand their footprint in Libya. While infrastructure needs further restoration and the ease of doing business can be improved, they stand ready to work hand in hand with Libyan companies as they are working towards unleashing the country’s full economic potential.

Excellency, dear friends,

Germany and Libyans share the goal of a unified and prosperous Libya and a return to intensive bilateral economic relations, as we had in the past. We hope for all relevant actors to put the interests of Libyans first and thereby enable this country to be unified – as was Germany.

Thank you for joining us tonight celebrating German unity – and thank you for all hard work on the Libyan unification process!