On July 13 and 14, 2021, ambassadors and other diplomats from 16 countries in the Asia-Pacific region visited Thuringia. We organized the visit jointly with the German East Asian Association (OAV). A reception for the delegation by Thuringia's Minister-President Bodo Ramelow at the Evangelical Augustinian Monastery in Erfurt marked the start of the visit, which was dedicated to the mutual exchange of information and dialogue – perfectly in line with the guiding principle of the overarching OAV visit series, "Ambassadors in Dialogue.".
The aim of the two-day program was to provide visitors with insights into Thuringia's dynamic business and startup landscape, to showcase not only its economic potential but also the cultural advantages of the Free State, and to offer Thuringian stakeholders the opportunity to gain access to attractive Asian markets. The rest of the program was correspondingly diverse: In addition to a reception with the Minister-President, there was a networking evening under the patronage of Thuringia's Minister of Economic Affairs, Wolfgang Tiefensee, and LEG Managing Director Andreas Krey, followed by an excursion to the "Erfurter Kreuz" industrial park the next day (with company visits to IHI and N3 Overhaul Services GmbH & Co. KG). Economic and scientific potential was also the focus of meetings with representatives of the Foundation for Technology, Innovation and Research (STIFT) and bm-t beteiligungsmanagement thüringen GmbH. Further program highlights included a reception hosted by Erfurt's Mayor, Andreas Bausewein (with a city tour), and a visit to the Klassik Stiftung Weimar (Weimar Classics Foundation). During the visit, representatives of two universities sealed their future close cooperation in the areas of research, teaching, and administration with a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The cooperation partners are Jamia Millia Islamia (New Delhi) and the Erfurt University of Applied Sciences.
background
The Asia-Pacific region is home to 60 percent of the world's population, accounts for over 70 percent of global economic growth, and handles 17 percent of Thuringia's total foreign trade volume: The Asia-Pacific region stretches from Japan to New Zealand and from India to Indonesia – and it is of great importance to Thuringia, not least because of significant Asian investors such as Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL) and IHI Charging Systems International Germany GmbH, who have chosen to invest in the Free State in recent years.
