Wolfgang Ischinger receives EastWest Institute's Global Statesman Award

On October 2, the EastWest Institute (EWI) honored Ambassador Wolfgang Ischinger and Stephen B. Heintz with its John Edwin Mroz Global Statesman Award, in recognition of their distinguished careers as statesmen and long-standing contributions to advancing the interest of transatlantic relations.  

The awards were presented as part of EWI's Annual Gala, held at the Metropolitan Club in New York City. The evening's program featured a keynote presentation by Ambassador Frank G. Wisner (International Affairs Advisor, Squire Patton Boggs, LLP). Personal remarks were made by Dr. Armen Sarkissian (President of Armenia) as well as by Mr. Vartan Gregorian (President of the Carnegie Corporation of New York). Mrs. Frances Fragos Townsend (Executive Vice President, MacAndrews and Forbes Incorporated) served as Master of Ceremonies.

Ambassador Ischinger has been actively associated with the EWI and has served on its Board of Directors since 2001.

The EWI established the John Edwin Mroz Global Statesman Award in memory of its late founder. This award recognizes people who share John’s vision of a peaceful world, who work passionately to achieve it and who embody his values as a trust-builder.

This fall, Germans and Americans are celebrating the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. As a matter of fact, almost exactly 30 years ago today, my assignment was to accompany one of those trains carrying thousands of East German refugees from Prague to West Germany: the freedom trains.

What followed then – the international negotiating process culminating in German unification on October 3, 1990, our National Day which happens to be tomorrow – could never have been successfully concluded without the trust, the support, and the leadership of the United States.

In fact, Germany owes the United States a twofold debt of gratitude: First, for inviting post-war, post-Nazi Germany to join the West, to become a member of the Western community of nations. What a generous and historic decision that was!

And second, for pushing the unification process in 1989/1990 forward in a way which allowed unified Germany to be a member of both the European Union and of NATO. Again, a strategic decision of historic dimensions!

To my American friends I can only say this: Thank you for standing by us for these last 70 years. This will never be forgotten!

Looking at current tensions and disagreements in the transatlantic relationship, allow me to say this: We continue to need the U.S., we continue to need NATO, and we continue to need strong U.S. leadership in the Euro-Atlantic space. We need you even if we happen to have disagreements on certain policies, such as burden-sharing in NATO, Iran, or trade.
Because even if we manage to build a more powerful and more capable European Union, we will still want to preserve and maintain the closest possible transatlantic relationship, including through NATO.

And I hope Americans know that their best friends and allies overseas are in Europe – even if we may sometimes be really difficult friends. And I hope you and many Americans out there know that America will be greater and stronger with Europe than without Europe.

So let's resolve to engage, engage, engage with each other. Our children deserve a safer world. Together, we and the transatlantic alliance can help create and defend it!

(Photo credits: www.sardari.com)