France, Germany sign treaty on cooperation

The Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany Angela Merkel and the President of the French Republic Emmanuel Macron are signing today, in Aachen, a new French-German treaty of cooperation and integration.

This signing will mark a new stage in the historic march towards peace and reconciliation of our two countries which began 56 years ago after centuries of conflict and rivalry. On January 22, 1963, General de Gaulle and Chancellor Adenauer had sealed this reconciliation by the Treaty of the Elysee.

This agreement was a historic event of first magnitude for France and Germany, but also for Europe and the world: both partners were considering a common future in mutual respect, friendship and cooperation. The Treaty has enabled concrete implementation: the creation of the Franco-German Office for Youth has proven to be a major instrument of Franco-German reconciliation. Schoolboys, high school students and students have participated in many exchanges and acquired a better reciprocal cultural and linguistic knowledge.

With this new treaty, France and Germany intend to give new impetus to this partnership and reinforce their close links. This cooperation will cover all areas of economic, foreign and security policy, education and culture, research and technology, climate and environment, between border regions, as well as between actors in civil society.

Open to all member states of the European Union, this partnership is first and foremost a partnership for Europe. Heir to the founding fathers of the union, the Franco-German "couple" works to make Europe a force of stability, in an unstable international environment.

With new models of bilateral collaboration, the two countries hope to pave the way for new forms of European cooperation: through action, joint projects, for and with our French and German peoples.

This reinforced bilateral and European partnership also heads for a strong partnership between Europe and Africa, and between France and Germany on the one side and Ghana on the other. Both our embassies and institutions in Ghana will strive to forge an ever deeper partnership between our societies, peoples and countries. One example of our cooperation will be tonight’s joint concert at Alliance

Accra, with musicians from both our countries. And to enable as many spectators as possible to enjoy it, the entrance is free. But there will be many more joint events, celebrating both French-German friendship and French and German partnerships in Ghana.

Finally, this new Franco-German Treaty is a message of peace and hope.

We, Ambassadors of France and Germany in Ghana, with our teams, proudly and gladly wish to share this message with all our Ghanaian friends, committed, like us, to peace, multilateralism and cooperation among people.