1985 Kohl's Concluding Statement

G7/8 Summit Meetings > 1985 Bonn Summit

Chancellor Helmut Kohl's Concluding Statement

Bonn, May 4, 1985
Unofficial Translation
[Deutsch]

Federal Chancellor Dr. Helmut Kohl made the following introductory statement in the German Bundestag [Parliament] on May 4, 1985, before the release of the final document of the Bonn Economic Summit, the Bonn Economic Declaration: Towards Sustained Growth and Higher Employment:

Presidents, Colleagues, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen:

It is a great honor and a great pleasure for me to be able to submit to you at the conclusion of the Bonn Summit our report on two days of intensive talks and work.

We had very open, very friendly, occasionally also controversial discussions, but the important thing was and is that even differences of opinion were dealt with in the spirit of partnership and friendship.

Yesterday we approved and released a political declaration. You will understand that as Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany I welcome and value very highly this political declaration.

The political declaration approved yesterday on the occasion of the fortieth anniversary of the end of the war is for all of us a political document of great importance. We remember thus the victims of war and tyranny, and at the same time we look back with pride on what we accomplished in forty years of joint effort in the spirit of conciliation.

We affirm our faith in the bases of our friendship, our common values, in peace and freedom, in democracy, and in human rights.

This political declaration is a document of the political and spiritual togetherness of our countries. The partnership of North America, Europe and Japan guarantees peace and stability in the world. We want to make use of our experiences of the last forty years of peace and freedom for the creation of a better future for all mankind.

It is understandable that we -- the Heads of State and Government, the finance and economic ministers, the foreign ministers -- talked about numerous subjects during these many hours. Naturally, I cannot refer to all those subjects in this summary statement, before reading the actual document at the conclusion. I will make two exceptions.

We took up the question of the Strategic Defense Initiative of the American President within the framework of our exchange of opinions on East-West questions. The President clarified his long-term research project. The United States is ready for intensive consultations even in the future. I will make a special point of emphasizing and welcoming this.

The President stressed that the United States does not aim at achieving superiority, but at strengthening strategic stability. The strategy of the alliance will remain preserved as long as there is no effective alternative for the prevention of war.

The task in Geneva is to reduce drastically strategic and medium-range nuclear weapons and to start early discussions on the relationship between offensive and defensive weapons with a view to achieving cooperative solutions in the future.

We also talked, inter alia, about a problem that affects, in many countries of the world, young people especially, and ultimately their parents: the drug problem. We have dealt with this matter for we know that many young people particularly are tragic victims of the drug problem.

We are determined to fight it resolutely. We have agreed to develop -- in addition to measures already in place -- a most comprehensive and effective strategy by relying on the services of existing agencies in order to fight the drug manufacture, the drug trade, and related crimes more effectively.

We will charge experts to discuss and evaluate this strategy as well as effective measures which might be adopted through supplementary initiatives. We have agreed that the necessary proposals will be submitted by the end of this year to enable us as soon as possible to draw the necessary conclusions.

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