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Shaping the future through partnerships: Foreign Minister Wadephul travels to the Indo-Pacific
Foreign Minister Wadephul meets the Prime Minister of Singapore, Lawrence Wong © Photothek Media Lab
Foreign Minister Wadephul visits five partner countries in Southeast Asia and the Pacific.
Foreign Minister Wadephul is visiting five partner countries in the Indo-Pacific region: Singapore, New Zealand, Tonga, Australia and Brunei.
The Indo-Pacific is one of the most dynamic regions in the world and is becoming ever more important for Germany and Europe. Foreign Minister Wadephul is travelling to the region once again in order to deepen existing partnerships and generate new momentum for cooperation – in areas from trade and technology to the international order and security.
In talks on foreign, security and economic policy, the focus will be on further strengthening Germany’s cooperation with the region and developing joint responses to global challenges.
Prior to his departure, Foreign Minister Wadephul said:
We are living in times when old certainties that our prosperity and security rested on for decades are crumbling. In times when the law of the strong threatens to supplant the strength of the law. Now in particular, we must expand our global network of robust partnerships in line with our core interests. We want to consolidate existing partnerships and forge new ones.
For multilateralism and international rules
This trip is taking place in a context of far-reaching international change. Global power shifts, economic competition and growing tensions are increasingly putting the rules-based international order to the test. All five countries share Germany’s interest in bolstering multilateral structures and defending a stable international order.
Prior to his departure, Foreign Minister Wadephul emphasised:
Together, we advocate for clear rules to govern international relations when these come under pressure – in Europe as in the Indo-Pacific. Because what happens in the Taiwan Strait or the South China Sea, for example, has global repercussions.
Southeast Asia as the start and end point of the trip
The first stop on the trip is Singapore, one of the most important global hubs for international trade and technological innovation. High-level talks are planned there. Foreign Minister Wadephul will also give a speech at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), one of the world’s leading think tanks for security and strategy research. His itinerary further includes a visit to the Schaeffler Hub for Advanced Research, a forward-looking innovation laboratory that embodies close cooperation between industry, research and international partnership.
Singapore exemplifies open markets and a rules-based trade system. The planned expansion of relations between Germany and ASEAN is set to further deepen cooperation with Southeast Asia.
Brunei, the last stop of the trip, also has a central role to play in this. As ASEAN’s current EU country coordinator, it supports closer ties between Europe and the region. High-level talks are planned in Brunei as well.
The Pacific region – close partners and new connections
With Australia and New Zealand, Foreign Minister Wadephul is visiting two close friends and partners in shared values with Germany. Both countries are major political and economic players in the Pacific region and have a key role in the regional security architecture. The Minister’s itinerary includes talks with members of government and business representatives.
He will also meet the Prime Minister of Niue. The two will officially seal the establishment of diplomatic relations between Germany and Niue with their signatures, marking an important step for Germany in establishing closer ties in the Pacific.
Tonga and moving towards the island states
Another focal point of the trip is on relations with the Pacific states. In Tonga, Foreign Minister Wadephul will mark 150 years of the friendship treaty and 50 years of diplomatic relations between the Kingdom of Tonga and Germany.
Germany wants to continue expanding its involvement in the Pacific region – including by aiming for a strategic partnership with the Pacific Islands Forum. With contributions to the regional organisation’s climate fund, Germany also supports measures to strengthen the region’s resilience to the effects of climate change.
Responsibility in turbulent times
Prior to his departure, Foreign Minister Wadephul made it clear:
In uncertain times, it is incumbent upon us to continue building a reliable network of global partnerships and ensuring it is fit for the future. Because our freedom, prosperity and security will not be decided in Europe alone – but in worldwide cooperation.
His visit underscores how Germany is basing its approach in the Indo-Pacific on dialogue, reliability and cooperation – as a contribution to freedom, security and prosperity, in Germany and worldwide.