24 Jan 2013

Botswana, Germany and France enjoy strong bonds of friendship since establishment of their diplomatic relations, Minister for Presidential Affairs and Public Administration, Mr Mokgweetsi Masisi has said.

Speaking at the Elysee Treaty celebration; a friendship between Germany and France on Tuesday, Mr Masisi said the three countries cooperated in various fields such as education and cultural exchanges, among others.

The 50 years of friendship were celebrated at the Alliance Française through an instructive photographic exhibition on Franco-German relations over the past half-century.

German ambassador, Ms Annet Gunther said from 1870-1945, the European continent lived in the shadow of confrontation between France and Germany.

“Today we are doing something that half a century ago would not have been inconceivable. We celebrate 50 years of friendship between two countries that used to be enemies,” she said.

She said the exhibition did not only mark the end of that confrontation but depicted and described the Franco-German friendship and cooperation the two countries continued to enjoy.

Furthermore, she said the Elysee Treaty paved way for the two former enemies to become the most important partners in Europe. The treaty called for regular consultations between the French and German governments on all important matters including foreign, security, youth and cultural policy.

Ms Gunther said the Germans and French had grown together over decades and learned to appreciate each other’s particularities. “The number one German stereotype for France is good food, cheese and wine while a widely used German expression ‘living like God in France’ says it all,” said Ms Gunther. Ends