Morocco is Europe’s closest neighbour to the south and Denmark is Germany’s immediate neighbour to the north. In both countries I want to talk about how we can make ourselves fit for the future by cooperating more closely.

Morocco is perfectly placed to become an important strategic pillar in the European energy transition. The country has been working closely with Germany on developing renewables for more than a decade. However, even looking beyond this, the potential for increased economic cooperation and person-to-person contact is huge. In the interest of the people in both countries, we therefore want to re-set our relations so as to fully explore and use these opportunities.

In recent months, we have worked hard to build a shared foundation for a forward-looking partnership. Many new cooperation blueprints have been developed and many projects that were successful in the past have been re-launched. With my visit today, we now want to open this new chapter in our bilateral relations together.

Heading to Denmark means I am visiting one of our closest partners – not just for the tens of thousands of families with members on both sides of the border, not just as a popular tourist destination for Germans but also as a pioneer when it comes to topics which will shape Europe’s future, a pioneer whom we in Germany can always learn from. But the close nature of these relations cannot be a reason to focus our attention elsewhere. On the contrary. That is why we are signing a German-Danish Action Plan on Friday to dovetail our actions even more – both when it comes to the development of offshore energy in the North and Baltic Seas and when it comes to the watershed we are experiencing in security policy, which we want to shape together as Baltic Sea states and NATO partners. The Danish people’s decision to participate fully in the EU Common Security and Defence Policy in the future provides an opportunity to take this cooperation to a new level.