diplomacy
Foreign Minister Baerbock on her inaugural visit to Canada
After her visit to New York, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) will travel on to Canada. photo
© Britta Pedersen/dpa
In New York, Baerbock advocates a strong transatlantic alliance for the 21st century. In addition to the USA and Europe, this also includes Canada. On Wednesday she is there for her inaugural visit.
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock ends her three-day trip to North America on Wednesday with her inaugural visit to Canada. In Montreal on Wednesday she will hold talks with her counterpart Mélanie Jolie, visit a grain terminal in the port and meet with participants in an integration program for women.
Before that, Baerbock was in New York for two days, where she attended a UN conference on the review of the NPT and delivered a keynote speech on transatlantic relations.
Gas turbine debate
Canada is a NATO partner of Germany and belongs to the G7 of leading democratic economic powers. Germany currently chairs this group of states. The talks with Jolie will also deal with the Ukraine war and its aftermath. A turbine for the Nord Stream 1 Baltic Sea pipeline had been serviced in Canada and is now stuck in Germany on its way to Russia. The Canadian government is therefore under pressure. She is accused of evading sanctions. A parliamentary committee is currently investigating.
The maintenance of the turbine was carried out by Siemens Energy in Montreal. However, Baerbock will not visit the plant during her stay in the metropolis of the province of Quebec. Chancellor Olaf Scholz inspects the turbine on Wednesday in Mülheim an der Ruhr. In an interview with the Canadian newspaper “The Globe and Mail”, he defended the Canadian government. “For me, the criticism of Justin Trudeau and his government is completely unfounded,” he said. “The decision to supply the turbine is hardly a favor to Gazprom, but rather a strong sign of support for Germany and Europe.”
Baerbock promotes transatlantic partnership
In her transatlantic speech in New York on Tuesday, Baerbock advocated a partnership between Europe and North America based on three pillars: security cooperation, a rules-based international order and strengthening democracy. She emphasized that in view of the Ukraine war, ties are “perhaps closer today than at any time since the end of the Cold War”.
“Today, as our security and our freedom are threatened in a way not seen in decades, it is once again our task to close the transatlantic ranks,” she said. “We must seize this transatlantic moment to build a stronger, irreversible transatlantic partnership for the 21st century.”