A week ago, I travelled to Ukraine. It was my second visit since assuming office. This time, I made a conscious decision to also travel to Odesa. As many of you know, this centuries-old, large and magnificent city on the Black Sea was and remains multicultural and multi-religious. Directly after my visit, it was again attacked by Russia – as it has been repeatedly since the start of the Russian invasion – and subjected to the terrors of Russian missile strikes.

It was a moving experience. While I was there, I met the Jewish children, the orphans who we looked after in Berlin, and was thanked on behalf of you all, on behalf of the Federal Republic of Germany. Today, I would like to pass on those thanks. We took these children in for a year without any red tape. Thank you very much for this support! It sent a positive message of solidarity, not only with Jews all over the world, but most especially also with Ukrainians. Esteemed colleagues, we have to continue this clear course at Ukraine’s side.

I’m expressing my sincere gratitude to you, and will also thank those in Hamburg who have played their part. The Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG operates the port of Odesa. That would not be possible without their involvement throughout the war; that’s very much appreciated there. You all know that Ukrainian production is extremely important for Ukraine’s entire supply and waste management systems, but also for the World Food Programme, whose local director I met there. I would therefore also like to sincerely thank the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg for its very practical assistance on the ground in another port city. This is a city-twinning partnership in action, something which we should all welcome.

However, we all know that Ukraine is not the only crisis confronting us. We’re experiencing simultaneous major conflicts. I’m thinking here of the Middle East, of Iran, of Israel, of the Western Balkans, where the situation is still very fragile. And I’m also thinking of many regions in the Global South, for example the disastrous crisis in South Sudan, one of the most serious humanitarian crises we see in the world at present and which seems almost forgotten because it barely makes the headlines here. Minister of State Güler will travel there in the near future.

In these circumstances, I can only call on all of us not to turn a blind eye to the suffering in South Sudan, which I mention by way of example because the most serious crisis is unfolding there.

Regrettably, the United States of America is withdrawing from all USAID projects and no longer sees its international responsibility in that context in the way that we have been accustomed to for decades. In this situation – and I also say this with regard to this budget – I appeal to you, colleagues, to take this seriously in the parliamentary negotiations. But please – and we will have to take this into account in the governmental negotiations – also in the next budget and the budgets after that. In view of the number, the magnitude, the depth and the seriousness of these humanitarian crises, we as the Federal Republic of Germany are under an obligation – from a humanitarian standpoint and one can also say from a Christian standpoint – to do more than we have done to date.

Furthermore, we have to do this in our own interest. This is important should conflicts of this nature further erode the overall situation, for example in Africa, and should there be further population movements or migratory movements to the immediate neighbourhood. We already see many leaving the Sudan for neighbouring countries, for instance southern Egypt. This is an important consideration should this continue. This is still a hypothetical scenario, colleagues.

We all experienced this in 2015/2016 and are still dealing politically with some of the symptoms today, as a recent opinion poll has just shown once again. We’re called upon to tackle this flow of refugees at its root. It’s therefore in our own interest to provide assistance. We’re doing this through the budget of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, but also through the Federal Foreign Office budget. For that we need your support, ladies and gentlemen.

I’d like to address a second point that’s very important – it sometimes seems insignificant, but I’d like to highlight it in the current budget discussions, also with a view to the future: the foreign service plays a key role in our foreign policy. We employ just under 14,000 people around the world, both seconded staff and local employees, mainly at our missions abroad. We are responsible for around 800 properties where these people live and work. These constitute the infrastructure for our partnerships. And we need modern, well-equipped missions abroad.

It may seem a trivial matter, but in light of the urgency of the issue I’d like to take this opportunity to highlight the conditions under which many colleagues have to work in numerous locations around the world: we have embassies which are on the brink of collapse. We have missions abroad which are not structurally secure.

In particular, they are not protected against potential violent attacks from outside. And in terms of security, they are not protected against cyber attacks, against digital attacks. Ladies and gentlemen, I must ask you to take into consideration these working conditions of our staff – not just my but our staff – who perform their duties in difficult locations around the world, and provide us with the funding needed to modernise our missions. I’d like our foreign service to be more clearly delineated as an “external” service once again. In other words, I want to be able – with your support – to send my colleagues abroad with a clear conscience. And for that, we need to ensure the requisite material conditions are in place. For that, in these circumstances, we need money.

Ladies and gentlemen, please let’s not forget that we are talking about a crucial asset abroad, that these people, that the diplomats, but also all consular staff and the many different people who work in the missions abroad, are our face in the world, that they are our best investment, that they are an investment in good, peaceful, successful relations in the world and, by the way, an investment in relations that secure our prosperity. This is money well invested. We cannot do this work with considerably fewer staff, even if of course the Government’s spending cut targets apply and I also have to look to see what I can save.

But I can tell you that every man and woman, every individual we send abroad is a good investment in our foreign policy, in our international trade relations, in our cultural relations, not only with neighbouring countries, but also in far-flung corners of the world. We have a great responsibility. I ask for your support in these budget deliberations.

Thank you very much for your attention.