It is indeed a very special occasion that has brought me here today. The assumption of diplomatic relations between the Federal Republic of Germany and Niue is both highly significant and a natural next step, because it formalises in a ceremonial setting that which we are already in the process of building. For more than 20 years, for example, there has been vibrant cultural cooperation between the Museum Fünf Kontinente in Munich and partners in Niue. For some time now, Germany has been joining forces with the Pacific Island States to take joint action against climate change and its effects.

Because it is here in the Pacific Islands, more than nearly anywhere else, that one can see the threats people face when rising sea levels wash away the ground under their feet and entire islands in the region become uninhabitable – it is indeed an existential question, and a question of security. This is why Germany has pledged 5 million euro for the Pacific Resilience Facility. This fund is designed to specifically meet the needs of Pacific Island States as they confront the challenges of climate change.

It has a Pacific lead, and it is Pacific-owned, so as to ensure uncomplicated access to climate finance resources. Friends to all, enemies to none. This maxim holds true for partnerships in the Pacific Island States region. It is, of course, how we wish the entire world would be. Unfortunately, we currently live in a world where great powers are increasingly seeking to stake claim to their spheres of influence, in which international cooperation and multilateralism are being forced aside, and the law of the strong is taking centre stage. This makes it all the more important that we, particularly in times like these, stand up for the existential interests of small states.