“Celeberation of a renewed relationship”

Speech of Ambassador Delia Domingo Albert
at the inauguration of the
Philippine Honorary Consulate for North Rhine Westphalia
Essen, 3 September 2007

Introduction

Mr. Heinz-Peter Heidrich, Honorary Consul of the Philippines, Mr Michael Mertes, State Secretary for Federal and European Affairs, Mr Norbert Kleine-Mölhoff, Mayor of Essen, mga Kababayan, ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon.

In 1980 we opened our first Honorary Consulate in Duesseldorf.  Many of you may remember the activities that were undertaken to introduce the Philippines to this part of Germany.  I remember the performances of the Ateneo Boys Choir as well as other cultural events hosted by our former Honorary Consul Karl-Heinz Stockheim as recorded in his book entitled “Leben wie die Vögel Singen”.  May I take this opportunity to acknowledge his contributions to Philippine-German relations.

Today, we formally re-open the Office of the Philippine Honorary Consul for North Rhine Westphalia, based in this vibrant city of Essen.  Just as Essen is the heartland of the Ruhr, this is also the heartland of the Filipino Community in Germany. Twenty percent of all Filipinos in Germany are living in this länder.   Today, Philippine official presence is found in Berlin, Hamburg, Bonn, Stuttgart, Munich, Frankfurt, Potsdam, Gotha and now in Essen.

Philippine-German bilateral relations

The first wave of Filipino migrants to Germany occurred in the 1970s when Germany needed hospital nurses and technicians. The majority of them came to North Rhine Westphalia.  Since then, we have heard of their services which I believe were highly appreciated by the German Community.  Today, we find active Filipino organizations in this state which comprise about 33 percent of all registered organizations in Germany.  German statistics records show that about 3,932 Filipinos live in this State.  They are socially-responsible not just to their adopted home, Germany, but also to their native country, the Philippines, as they continue to assist in social work projects in their hometowns.

While the Philippines sent its medical personnel, Germany sent us scientists, priests and nuns who established schools in the Philippines.  Non-governmental organizations based in North Rhine Westphalia are active in the Philippines – such as Misereor, Missio, Bröt für die Welt.  Institutions like INWENT and Goethe Institut facilitate cultural exchanges between our two countries.