Excellencies, Friends of the United Nations,

Three months ago we brought the Pact of the Future across the finish line. I fondly recall meeting many of you back then in New York. These negotiations and our joint success demonstrate the lasting value of diplomacy.

Unfortunately, I can’t join you in person today. But with Ambassador Antje Leendertse you have a fantastic host – someone who shares the principles and values that bind us together as “United Nations”. My country, Germany, strongly believes in a world based on multilateral cooperation between countries large and small.

In our history, we have experienced both the horrors of war and the blessings of peace. Willy Brandt once famously said that “Peace is not everything, but without peace, everything is nothing.” It is in this spirit that we would like to serve peace and security together with you and for you.

If elected for the 2027 – 2028 term on the Security Council: we will work with you to strengthen cooperation and to overcome divisions; we will do everything in our power to restore trust in this vital body; and we will champion the vision of a peaceful, just, and sustainable world.

Our candidacy will be guided by respect, justice, and peace: respect for all people and for the Charter of the United Nations. Justice – by addressing inequalities, and by tackling the security impacts of climate change and the root causes of violence. And peace – by overcoming what divides us and holding on to what unites us: the rules and principles of the United Nations.

People all over the world place their hopes in the Security Council and its work. With your support, we will do our best to serve them well.