19 Jan. 2005

President of Germany at NATO News 18/01/2005 - NATO Visit to NATO by the President of the Federal Republic of Germany, H. E. Prof. Dr. Horst Koehler Opinions 19/01/2005 - NATO Opening Statement by NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer 19/01/2005 - NATO Opening Statement by the Dean of the Council, His Excellency Mr. Karel Kovanda 19/01/2005 - NATO Ansprache von Bundespräsident Horst Köhler Multimedia 19/01/2005 - NATO High resolution photos 19/01/2005 - NATO Opening Statement by NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer (.MP3/1349kb) 19/01/2005 - NATO Opening Statement by the Dean of the Council, His Excellency Mr. Karel Kovanda (.MP3/1211kb) 19/01/2005 - NATO Opening remarks by the President of the Federal Republic of Germany, H. E. Prof. Dr. Horst Koehler (.MP3/5218kb) Speaking at NATO on 19 January, President Horst Koehler of Germany said that today’s security challenges could only be tackled jointly, on the basis of a political consensus. The President visited NATO Headquarters in Brussels to address a session of the North Atlantic Council, the Alliance’s senior decision-making body. This year marks the 50th anniversary of Germany’s membership in NATO. The President was welcomed by the Secretary General of NATO, Jaap De Hoop Scheffer and the Dean of the Council, Ambassador Karel Kovanda of the Czech Republic. Linked histories “Perhaps no other NATO member’s history has been more closely intertwined with our NATO Alliance than the history of the Federal Republic of Germany,” said the Secretary General. “The security of your country was critically dependent on NATO, and NATO, in turn, was able to rely on Germany’s unflinching support.” In his address the President emphasized the need for building public support for and understanding of the importance of missions in faraway places like Afghanistan. He said that this would be one of his personal priorities during his term in office. Prior to his address to the Council, the President met with the Secretary General for bilateral talks. This was President Koehler's first visit to NATO since he took up office.