Speech by Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul at a reception in the German Embassy in Buenos Aires during his trip to Latin America

Ladies and gentlemen, esteemed guests, Ambassador, Mr Lamlé,

Allow me first of all to thank you personally for your service, and your wife, too, of course, for her kind hospitality. Thank you for postponing your retirement specially in order to welcome me here today.

It really is a great pleasure for me to be here in Buenos Aires. I intended to make this trip back in the spring, but unfortunately it had to be put off because of the war in Iran.

And now I have to admit that coming to Argentina during a World Cup is not exactly the easiest time for a German Foreign Minister. Though it has to be said that it was even harder yesterday in Paraguay.

Here in Argentina, these days, it's all about Lionel Messi, whom we all admire. He has just surpassed Miroslav Klose as the all-time top goalscorer in the World Cup.

Of course, we all know that titles are not won by individual players; one star is not enough.

Titles are won by a team.

With each member playing their part.

Alongside partners you can rely on.

Ladies and gentlemen, that is true not only in football, but also in international politics. States, too, need reliable partners.

And not only in the good times. But especially when - as we are currently seeing on the world stage - the challenges are increasing. At a time when democracies are coming under pressure both from within and from outside. At a time when crises and wars dominate day-to-day politics. At a time when international trade routes are becoming more fragmented and when there appear to be fewer and fewer international rules.

Precisely at a time like this, we need partners who think in the long term. Who build trust. Partners who don't merely show up when there's something to gain, but are consistently there.

For Germany, Argentina is just such a partner.

As is Germany for Argentina. For that we are grateful.

Ladies and gentlemen, our two countries are inextricably linked through their historical and cultural relations.

Last year we celebrated a special anniversary together: "200 years of German immigration to Argentina". For the first German settlers arrived here back in 1825.

That marked the beginning of a long history of migration that to this day makes itself felt in this country in many areas: even in 2026 you see books by Kafka, Freud and Goethe in the cafes of Buenos Aires; every evening in the Tango Porteño, you hear the bandoneon - a German instrument. And as a trained lawyer, of course, I'm delighted to hear that Argentine lawyers are also familiar with the German criminal lawyers Jakobs and Roxin.

But we are also linked by difficult chapters in our pasts: our countries are united by the awareness that history cannot by rewritten. That remembrance and reckoning with the past need to be an integral part of our society - particularly when it comes to the younger generation.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Argentina, also on behalf of the Jewish community, for assuming the Presidency of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance this year. As the first Latin American country to hold the Presidency, you are a role model for the entire region.

Ladies and gentlemen, we Germans sometimes have the reputation of being reserved. This may be particularly true of Northern Germans like myself.

Unlike Argentines, we often need a while before we open up and make friends. But once we have embarked on a friendship, then it lasts.

Let me give you two examples. The German-Argentine Centre for Higher Education is something very special for Germany. The only other country apart from Argentina with which we have an equivalent structure is our European neighbour and close partner, France.

More than forty universities in Argentina and Germany offer binational courses leading to double degrees. When they finish their studies, in other words, the students are immediately qualified and ready for both labour markets. So when our universities work together, they are already thinking about the next generation.

And when German companies invest, they do so for decades. Siemens carried out its first project in Argentina as early as 1857: the installation of a telegraph line along the first stretch of the Ferrocarril del Oeste. The company also played a major part in the construction of the Obelisk of Buenos Aires, one of the city's prime landmarks.

Today, after our joint - indeed, one should say historic - progress this year on the EU-Mercosur Agreement, it is up to each and every one of us to breathe life into the agreement and further strengthen our economic partnership.

Argentina has important raw materials, like copper and lithium. Germany, on the other hand, has the necessary cutting-edge technology to process them.

This makes us natural partners.

Another manifestation of this partnership is the recently concluded long-term agreement on the export of liquefied natural gas from Argentina to Germany. Another is the new Daimler truck production plant in Zárate.

However - and here I am in particular addressing the business representatives among us - we can and must expand this partnership even further. This will enable us to benefit from each other.

Ladies and gentlemen, unfortunately Germany is no longer in the World Cup, but we will cheer on the Latin American teams and share your excitement. We look forward to the rest of an exciting tournament.

Let me repeat what Ambassador Lamlé said: Argentina, with us, is part of the Western family.

On that note, here's to a pleasant evening! I look forward to talking with you.