Your Highness,
I have the honour to present to you the letter of Credence which the President of the Federal Republic of Germany, Mr. Frank-Walter Steinmeier, has addressed to your Highness accrediting me as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Independent State of Samoa. I also have the honour to present the Letter of recall of my predecessor.
The President of the Federal Republic of Germany has requested me to convey to you his cordial and friendly greetings as well as his best wishes for the well-being of the people of Samoa.
Your Highness,
For me personally, as an Ambassador accredited in New Zealand and six Pacific Island States, it is today a great privilege and immense joy to hand over my very first credentials outside of New Zealand here in Samoa. This is a true sign of how strong our ties are – historically, culturally and politically. I am very happy that my wife Isabelle can share this historic moment in my life with me.
Having had very close relations since the early 1900s, in 1972 our two governments established diplomatic relations and thus strengthened the bilateral relationship and friendship
for the future. We are very happy to have a well-connected and well-established Honorary Consul of Germany here in Apia, Mrs Christa Szegedi, who accompanies me today,
together with her husband Stefan as well as her son Stefan, whom you, as I have heard, know very well.
Your Highness,
If you allow, I would like to share my feelings of compassion with you. The recent measles epidemic has imposed to your country and to your people a lot of suffering and grief over months. Please be assured of my deepest sympathy about the tragic loss of lives of so many
Samoans, particularly of small and vulnerable children.
Your Highness,
The Independent State of Samoa and Germany are very close partners in many global issues. The Pacific Islands challenges are our priorities – fighting climate change, preserving our oceans, protecting plants and forestry. This was what I could feel in August last year,
only one week after my arrival in New Zealand, when I had the privilege to attend, as Ambassador-designated, the Pacific Island Forum in Tuvalu.
The German development agency GIZ closely collaborates with your government.
GIZ carries out a number of regional projects, like the climate change adaptation programme “Coping with Climate Change in the Pacific Island Region” (CCCPIR) and “Adapting to Climate Change and Sustainable Energy” (ACSE) as well as the most recently launched “Nationally Determined Contributions” hub project (NDC) in cooperation with Apia based Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP).
The German Embassy is looking forward to an even closer cooperation with your country and with your people through several small scale projects such as with Tafitoala Primary School, Tupua Tamasese Hospital, Samoa Victim Support Group as well as a two-phase workshop project on female political empowerment which is currently being planned.
Your Highness,
I feel particularly honoured to serve as the Ambassador of Germany to Samoa. I will make every effort to further develop the excellent relations between our countries and people.
I trust that I can count on your support and the support of your Government in this endeavour.
