German Unity Day: Regional cooperation not a zero sum game, says German envoy

New ambassador discusses refugee crisis, bilateral trade, and the famed German work ethic

ISLAMABAD: In 1990, as the world watched the Soviet Union’s iron curtain falling away in real time, a country that it used to literally cut through was reunified after 40 years. A year earlier, the Berlin Wall had started to fall, leading to the reunification of the two Germanys into the modern federal republic, and October 3 was chosen to mark the merger, now referred to as the Day of German Unity.

The Express Tribune sat down with new German Ambassador Ina Lepel to discuss Germany’s role in the world, and its relationship with Pakistan.

Refugee crisis

As the world’s attention is focused on the Syrian refugee crisis, Germany is among the nations that opened its doors to thousands of people fleeing the violence. But what is Germany doing to address the source of the problem?

“We completely recognise that the Syrian war is the source of the problem, and that is why we strongly support, in particular the UN [efforts], to start a genuine peace process. After the [nuclear] deal with Iran, things seem to have become a little more promising. There is now at least a chance, and we see it as a positive sign that the Security Council has endorsed the plan of the UN special envoy. It is an effort to at least get all the stakeholders in the region on the table and get a real political process started,” she said.

And on the refugees, she said their cases would be examined and worked out, with only those having legitimate claims to asylum being allowed to stay long term.

“Not all the people who have arrived are expected to stay. A large part, once the asylum requests have been considered by the competent authorities on the merit of their cases, will be sent back to their home countries, the European countries where they first entered Europe, or, since we are also working on a quota system within the European Union, a European country selected by the quota system. There is no free choice of which country they will actually end up staying at the end of the procedures.”

Trade

Lepel said trade volume between Germany and Pakistan is “definitely below potential”.

“The latest stats that I have show that it’s over €2.1 billion per year, but that’s not really an impressive number. If we look at Bangladesh where we have €3.5 billion or Thailand where we have €8 billion, we are working with Pakistani institutions, companies and people in general on how we can improve the figures,” she said, adding that she is familiar with Pakistani potential and that the country could be a gateway to central Asia, China, and India, or in other words, “half the population of the planet”.

As for German investment, she said the main concerns remain the energy crisis and security situation, but also in general, transparency issues and clear investment protection rules. “It’s still quite difficult for foreign companies to really work with the system here.”

On a more positive note, she said, “Pakistan is one of the few countries with which Germany has a trade deficit, so Pakistan is very good at selling its goods in the European market. GSP+ has been an important contributor to that success, and in that sense, there is also very good basis to increase economic activity between the two countries.”

Students and the military

The ambassador said over 3,000, Pakistanis are currently studying in Germany, and the number is growing. “Most of them are paying their own way because it is relatively cheap compared to other countries, but about 600 of them get scholarships from the DAAD at present, and there also we see an upward trend.”

She also spoke of Pakistan’s German-educated national poet Allama Iqbal, “the first link between our two countries, he studied in Heidelberg and got his PhD from Munich”.

She also spoke of notable academics Mojib Latif, a climate researcher who works at the University of Kiel, and Muniruddin Ahmad, who taught Islamic Studies at the University of Hamburg.

“In the young generation we have a rapper, Ali As, who is presently in the top twenty of the German charts. In sports we have [footballer] Atif Bashir Qureshi, who played for the Berlin youth team, and is now in the Pakistan national team.”

On bilateral military relations, she said the history of working together goes back to the 60’s, “before anybody could think of the War on Terror”.

Over the years, 350 Pakistani officers have visited Germany and taken various courses and training, she said. “Most are long term so the officers who take part in these training get a good grasp of German language and character. These relations work as a two-way street because we also have 150 German officers that have visited Pakistan or taken part in Pakistani training at NDU and Command and Staff College Quetta.”

When asked about lessons for South Asia from the German experience, she said, “Regional cooperation and integration is not a zero sum game but one from which everyone can gain. In Europe, we started slowly, and then the good results came.”

She also referenced the role civil society played in bringing the Berlin Wall down.

Homecoming

Lepel previously served as the deputy ambassador here from 2006-2009. On returning to the country, she said “Even after six years, it was like coming home, even if it had changed a bit.”

On the changes, she said when she left, things were tense because of the security situation, but now, “Islamabad has become livelier, with more restaurants and shopping malls. Travelling between Islamabad and Rawalpindi has also become easier due to infrastructure upgrades.”

While discussing food, she said her favourite Pakistani dish is chicken malai boti. When asked what a tourist in Germany should try, she suggested veal tafelspitz, while pointing out that although many types of Germany’s famed sausages would be off limits for Muslims, duck dishes are also a good alternative.

Meanwhile, using football as a reference point, she explained that Germans “have a passion for technique” in their DNA. “Maybe a German trait is we don’t sit down and pat ourselves on the back saying we are good and we can relax.

We’re always thinking how we can do it better, so as long as we have that kind of drive, we do okay. Only when we keep this self-criticism and keep trying to see where we can do better, can we be successful.”

Published in The Express Tribune, October 3^rd, 2015.