I am very pleased to be appointed Coordinator of Transatlantic Cooperation. I am delighted to have the opportunity to continue playing an active role to help shape this key sphere of German foreign policy. Since my election to the German Bundestag in 2009, transatlantic relations have been the focus of my parliamentary work in the Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Alongside European integration, it is relations with the United States and Canada that form a central pillar of our foreign relations. The United States is our most important trading partner outside Europe. The North Atlantic Alliance will continue to be a strong partnership and play a decisive role in our security and our prosperity. That is why it is crucial to underscore time and again the shared basis of our relations and to consolidate and extend our cooperation. Particular importance attaches to intersocietal dialogue. For me, one of my central tasks is going to be to promote this dialogue and act as a bridge-builder between the partners.

I am keenly aware here of the historic role of the United States, particularly for us in Germany. The United States, Canada and Germany are natural and strategic partners in many fields stretching from business to security and energy.