Germany, France celebrate eight decades of peace in Europe
The Franco-German partnership for the last eighty years since the end of the World War II has served as a lesson for politicians and leaders of hostile neighbouring countries how enemies of yesterday can become friends and close partners today through political dialogue and exchanges in diverse sectors such as education, culture, business and tourism etc. These views were expressed by speakers at an academic colloquium “German-French Reconciliation and European Unification – 80 Years of a Continuing Success Story” organized by Afkar-e-Taza ThinkFest at the Marriott Hotel here on Tuesday.
Attended by a large number of ambassadors, high commissioners, diplomats, experts of the international affairs and above all university students, the event highlighted the need for concrete cooperation, economic resurgence and involvement of youth in efforts to forget the animosities putting behind the past rivalry and thus marching towards shared prosperity.
Ambassador of France, Nicolas Galey, the German envoy Ina Lepel, the EU ambassador in Pakistan, Raimundas Karoblis, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Afkar-e-Taza Thinkfest, Dr. Yaqoob Bangash also spoke on the occasion and discussed various aspects of the Franco-German cooperation and its larger role in the European unification.
Another highlight of the event was a discussion led by Associate Professor and Jean Monnet Chair in European Studies, Natioal University of Modern languages (NUML) Prof Dr Riaz Shad, President IRS Amb Jauhar Saleem, QAU Professor Dr Mujtaba Ali Isaani and Prof Dr Salma Malik of the QAU. Ambassador Galey in his speech covered the historical, political and economic dividends of the Franco-German partnership saying the enduring Franco-German friendship remains an essential force for Europe. Our two economies represent 40pc of the EU’s GDP and our two populations, one-third of the Union’s populations, he said.
