"Doing business together - learning from each other"
Founders' Day Lecture by Federal President Horst Köhler
Thank you very much for your kind invitation to deliver the Founders' Day Lecture today. It is a good opportunity to look back at the fifty-year history of the Indo-German Chamber of Commerce, Germany's largest chamber abroad. However, our two countries have a shared history of trade and business which goes back ten times further. Even more than 500 years ago, Jakob Fugger, a merchant and banker from Augsburg, financed the voyage of the first German ships to Goa thus opening up the trade route between Germany and India.Read more
"A better life for everyone"
Speech by Federal President Horst Köhler at the state banquet during the state visit to India
I am delighted to be able to enjoy your hospitality this evening with my delegation. Today's talks have confirmed to me the high level of agreement between Germany and India on many global issues. Our countries are working to promote democracy and the rule of law, the market economy and the preservation of the natural sources of life. Read more
"The ideal of an open global society"
Speech by Federal President Horst Köhler at a luncheon hosted by the four Indian business federations during his state visit to India
"There is not a thought that is being thought in the West or the East that is not active in some Indian mind". I share the respect expressed by the British historian E.P. Thompson for India's creative diversity, which certainly doesn't make it easy for a speaker from abroad to tell an Indian audience anything new. But I'm delighted to have this opportunity today in Delhi to share some thoughts with you which are "active in my mind". Read more
"The task for future generations"
Speech by Federal President Horst Köhler at a state banquet in honour of Mr Shimon Peres, President of the State of Israel
My wife and I would like to bid you, Mr President, and your delegation a very warm welcome to Schloss Bellevue. I'm delighted that you've come to Germany on this state visit. I would like to extend a special welcome to the survivors of the Holocaust accompanying President Peres on this trip. By doing so, you have set an example of generosity and trust which moves me and for which I'm indebted to you. Mr President, this morning we stood together on "platform 17" at Berlin Grunewald station and remembered the crimes committed by the National Socialists against their fellow human beings, against Jewish men, women and children. Read more
"Getting there in a different way"
Speech by Federal President Horst Köhler at the 2010 ADAC "Gelber Engel" award ceremony
A member of my staff told me recently that her car had had a flat tyre. It was dark, it was raining, she was in a hurry, and there was no spare wheel in the car. You can imagine her relief when an ADAC man turned up to help. It's one of the things ADAC is known for: fixing broken-down cars and getting drivers mobile again. But we all know that car repairs are not enough to ensure our mobility in the long term. Mobility, as it is practised today, is not up to the challenges of the future. Read more