President Reuven Rivlin invited to Germany

 

The Israeli President is visiting Germany.

 

At the invitation of German Federal President Joachim Gauck, the President of the State of Israel, Reuven Rivlin, accompanied by his wife Nechama Rivlin, is visiting Germany from 10 to 13 May 2015. The Israeli President’s first visit to Germany marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Germany and Israel on 12 May 1965, and is also the culmination of the anniversary year.

On 11 May Federal President Joachim Gauck received the presidential couple with full military honours at Schloss Bellevue, the presidential palace. At a joint press conference Rivlin and Gauck presented, among other things, a commemorative stamp issued on the occasion of the anniversary. In his speech the Israeli President mentioned the special relations between the two countries: “The fact that we are standing here today not only proves that the lessons from a dark history have been learned; it also demonstrates the promise of our joint future, as long as we stay true to the values of freedom and to democracy. I am full of hope that we can continue and indeed deepen our relations, and that our collaboration in joint actions for a better world can be strengthened and consolidated.”

 

In the afternoon Rivlin attended a memorial ceremony at the Holocaust memorial site “Platform 17” in Berlin’s Grunewald district, where he laid a wreath. The two Presidents then took part in the joint Youth Congress organized by the German-Israeli coordination centre for youth exchange “ConAct”. In the evening the Federal President gave a state banquet in honour of his Israeli counterpart.

 

On 12 May President Rivlin met Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel and Federal Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, as well as the President of the Bundestag Norbert Lammert. In the morning, together with the President Gauck, he visited the “LivingFuture!” event staged by the German-Israeli Future Forum. In the evening Rivlin and Gauck hosted a joint reception celebrating the 67th anniversary of Israel’s Independence Day.

 

On 13 May President Rivlin and his wife are to visit various sites in the city of Kiel and will be received by the Prime Minister of the Federal State of Schleswig-Holstein, Torsten Albig.