Germany.info : Information Services: Publications: The Week in Germany

Germany.info Home: Information Services: Publications: The Week in Germany

The Week in Germany: Current Affairs

November 14, 2007

Interview: Karsten D. Voigt - Coordinator of German-American Cooperation

Karsten D. Voigt, photo: from the Federal Foreign Office homepage

What role does Germany play nowadays in the political and social debate in the US and Canada?

Karsten D. Voigt, the Federal Foreign Office's coordinator of German-American cooperation, in a recent interview spoke about the future of the transatlantic relationship and his tasks: "The US remains our most important partner outside the European Union - in political, economic and cultural terms." In his view, the transatlantic partnership is the necessary precondition for resolving global problems and numerous regional conflicts.

Click here to read the full interview on the website of the Federal Foreign Office (Auswärtiges Amt), Germany's equivalent to the US State Department.

Transatlantic relations are diverse and multilayered. In view of their importance for German foreign policy, the Federal Government created the office of Coordinator of German-American Cooperation in 1981. The job of the Coordinator is to strengthen relations between the transatlantic partners and to use them for specific projects. Since 1999 the position has been held by Karsten D. Voigt. He travels frequently to the United States and Canada, to support networking in political, academic, cultural and social circles and to intensify personal contacts with decision-makers in the two countries.

Links:

Federal Foreign Office

The full interview with Karsten D. Voigt

Back to the Front Page

Current Headlines

Introducing
The German Information Center