In April, a journalist described the Strait of Hormuz as “Schrödinger’s Strait”. That is, as we fondly remember from physics or maths classes, both open and closed at the same time.

This unpredictable state of being is not something that we can endure for long, in politics or in business.

When container ships and tankers are suddenly stuck for weeks, when a whole region faces constant threats from Iran and long-established global processes stop overnight, then the geopolitical situation becomes an everyday problem.

And I mean that quite literally.

Our entirely ordinary everyday lives suddenly change.

Rockets that we don’t see affect the petrol we put in our cars, affect its price.

I know that we don’t need the Strait of Hormuz in order to discuss how it can remain possible for a globally connected industrial nation such as Germany to plan ahead economically.

There is no lack of ominous examples from within our country.

The supply of critical raw materials, the volatile tariffs for major export markets, or indeed the question of European access to leading AI models – today, these are foreign policy issues.

With tangible effects on domestic politics.

They shape the work of my ministry, our foreign policy.

And I am aware of the situation our country is in.

But part of my job is that I am very often able to view Germany from abroad.

And it remains the case that Germany is one of the wealthiest and safest countries in the world.

Ensuring that this does not change in an increasingly fragmented world should be a duty shared by all of us. It is certainly mine.

It is not enough to sentimentally dub our country a “world leading exporter”.

We must invest, produce, carry out research and training together with partners around the world.

This means, among other things, playing by shared rules.

The fact that I as Foreign Minister have to emphasise that says a lot about the world we are living in.

Shared rules that apply to everyone and create a secure foundation for action.

This is why we at the Federal Foreign Office are focusing on global partnerships rooted in our national interests.

And after more than a year in office, I can say that this approach is working.

Global partnerships require dependability.

And dependability requires rules.

That is why we, why I, place so much importance on strengthening and diversifying our trade relations.

We are doing this through modern trade agreements, which are a cornerstone of our agenda with global partners.

We have achieved a great deal with Mercosur – next week I will be at the Mercosur summit in Paraguay, as well as in Brazil and Argentina – and with India, with Indonesia, with Australia and with Mexico.

As a next step, we must place the focus on the swift implementation of these agreements.

We must breathe life into them.

You, our country’s industry, must also make active use of them!

And to anticipate certain anxieties – we must not, of course, immediately cancel out the benefits of these new agreements with contradictory EU regulations.

And for that reason, yes, we support the Industrial Accelerator Act – but it must be coherent.

For the Federal Government, it is therefore important that this can only be done through a “Made with Europe” approach, meaning fundamental equal treatment for our free trade and associated business partners.

In addition to this, stabilising EU-US trade relations remains a key component of our trade policy.

The progress made by the EU towards implementing the Turnberry deal with the US was important.

And yet we remain in an unstable situation.

This requires us to effectively protect our interests where necessary.

Moving the goalposts and continually threatening new customs measures harms the US and harms us.

At the same time, the right geoeconomic approach to China is vital for our competitiveness.

We must reduce our critical dependencies and bolster our resilience.

Our geoeconomic toolkit within the EU, including trade defence instruments, plays an important role here.

It is not about shying away from fair competition.

On the contrary, as a market economy we seek competition because it fosters innovation and efficiency.

But we cannot stand by and watch unfair competition practices that distort the market.

Neither in the EU single market nor in third-country markets.

However, we can only take action here by standing shoulder to shoulder with German industry and with partners.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, brings me back to my primary concern today. In a fragmented world, how can we, German industry and the Federal Government, form a “Team Germany” that will play at the top of the game?

At the Federal Foreign Office we are continuing to pursue the three-pillar model of promoting foreign trade and investment.

We have the German Chambers of Commerce Abroad in over 90 countries, which connect German businesses with local markets, provide legal certainty and organise delegations and networking events.

At the national level, we have Germany Trade and Invest working worldwide to promote investment in Germany, analyse markets and identify economic opportunities.

And our missions abroad provide access to markets, mediate in challenging political contexts and protect German businesses.

Three pillars, one team, working for our country.

Ladies and gentlemen,

This also means that we must work together more closely still in expanding our global partnerships.

I take every opportunity to make a personal contribution to this, and indeed some of you have previously joined me on visits abroad.

Inviting German business representatives to join me is, I believe, part of the remit of the Foreign Minister.

This is something I have changed. It is now a matter of course, and it will be no different next week on my trip to Latin America.

Promoting the interests of German industry has become a priority for the Federal Foreign Office under my leadership.

I believe that we owe this to you as the backbone of Germany’s prosperity and thus also of its security.

Even in a more conflict-ridden world, we can see that openness is needed for economic success.

That applies to German foreign policy, too.

More than in the past, however, we are now working to build trust and ensure rules are upheld, and looking for global partners who will join us in these efforts.

Instead of pulling up the drawbridge, as we are hearing calls to do from the fringes of the political spectrum, we need more connections, more partnerships, rooted in our interests.

In order to secure our prosperity in and for Germany.

We can only do so by working together as Team Germany.

And I am grateful for each and every one of you who is doing their part!

To stay with the theme, I am on the pitch, open and ready to assist, and hope that you are too.

Thank you very much!