Merkel: "The maritime economy is the flagship of our national economy.

National Maritime Conference opened

The 12th National Maritime Conference (NMK) at Terminal 8 in Rostock began on 10 May at 11:00 a.m. with a press conference:

Peter Altmaier, Member of the Bundestag, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy

Andreas Scheuer, MdB Federal Minister of Transport and Digital Infrastructure

Norbert Brackmann MdB, Federal Government Coordinator for the Maritime Industry

Manuela Schwesig, Minister President of the State of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania

Harry Glawe, Mdl. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Economic Affairs, Labour and Health of the State of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

Claus Ruhe Madsen, Lord Mayor of the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock

Norbert Brackmann MdB Maritime Coordinator of the Federal Government

The conference began at 1.00 p.m. in the Warnemünde cruise terminal with the Presenter Yared Dibaba, who, as a native of Schleswig-Holstein, immediately introduced the "Moin" as a general greeting. Norbert Brackmann welcomed the guests and was delighted with the 1,200 registrations. He began by thanking all maritime service providers and companies who have been able to maintain supply chains during the coronavirus pandemic. In his welcoming address, Norbert Brackmann emphasised the enormous challenges facing the maritime industry. These include shipbuilding, trade and handling, climate protection and digitalisation. Federal support is being provided in the form of an additional 1 billion for the maritime industry, as well as the economic stabilisation fund and the debt moratorium for cruise operators.

Manuaela Schwesig, Minister President of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania

In her welcoming address Manuela Schwesig She proudly advertised the efficiency of her federal state, which not only has a great tourism industry, but also a strong maritime economy as an important pillar. Although she was delighted to be able to hold the conference right by the sea in the digital space, she also called for the event to be held "live and in colour" in Rostock after the pandemic

At 14:00, the patron made her appearance, Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel, took to the microphone in Berlin and sent her greetings to the coast. She emphasised the importance of the maritime industry, which has run into rough seas as a result of the pandemic. She also mentioned the serious consequences that have caused hardship for many companies. She also mentioned the German government's comprehensive package of measures, but conceded that this only had a palliative effect. She called for looking ahead and thinking beyond the crisis: "more sustainable and digital, utilising the potential". She wanted Europe to become a lead market and literally said "We want to continue to have this here". She conspicuously avoided mentioning China. She hoped that new market niches would have to be found. She did not say that this had to be recaptured. Chancellor Merkel emphasised how important climate protection and the protection of maritime ecosystems are. She emphasised that we are challenged internationally, that there are competitors on the global market - and repeatedly avoided naming China.

Her statement that the maritime industry is the flagship of our economy was astonishing.

Peter Altmaier, Federal Minister of Economics

In Peter Altmeier's keynote speech, the Minister of Economic Affairs also initially avoided naming China as the biggest challenger to German industry until he was asked about this in the chat. However, he then called the distortions of competition by name. Competition is normal and desirable, but must be fair.

Photos: Livestream BMWI from 10.05