We must seize every opportunity that presents itself in order to curb the pandemic. In practice, this means that we as states must cooperate efficiently with one another, continuously improve supply chains and build up greater production capacities which enable us to produce even more high-quality vaccines worldwide. Today, I will thus be visiting the production site of one of the major vaccine manufacturers. Germany is investing very significantly in multilateral cooperation, not least by expanding capacity in developing and industrialising nations. Without worldwide solidarity in the distribution of vaccines, Delta will not be the last variant that we have to defeat.

We will see today in Michigan what German‑US cooperation can achieve. Transatlantic economic structures, collective innovative power when it comes to developing vaccines – all of this makes a vital contribution to achieving tangible progress in the fight against the pandemic. The concept of globalisation will only win people over and gain their acceptance when the advantages become clear to those involved. That is the case here. It is therefore essential to make it clear that collaboration across borders also helps us to defend our freedoms in a changing world. And it allows us to better utilise our shared potential. But we must never lose sight of the negative effects of structural and economic change on people’s lives, and must develop creative solutions to tackle these effects.

My trip will also take me to New York, where I will continue to seek the United Nations Security Council’s support for a political solution for Libya. We need the international stakeholders to take joint action and all foreign mercenaries and soldiers to withdraw. We reiterated this once again just recently at the Second Berlin Conference on Libya. And we will ensure it is on the agenda in New York, too. I will also speak with the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, about how we can continue to improve multilateral cooperation, including with regard to other challenges such as climate change.