The 58th anniversary of the return of the Independence of the Republic of Madagascar was officially celebrated at the Embassy of Madagascar in Berlin.
The day was also an occasion to commemorate the 135th anniversary of the signature of the Treaty of Peace, Friendship and Trade between Madagascar and Germany (May 15, 1883 – May 15, 2018) through photo exhibitions tracing the history of the good relations, which was also celebrated at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Antananarivo on Tuesday 15 May 2018, day to day.
Several high level representatives graced the event, especially at the diplomatic level, the representative of the German Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr Ralph Timmerman, the Dean of Diplomatic Corps in Berlin, more than 30 Ambassadors and representatives of accredited Embassies in Berlin.
The economic field was not left out since the presence among others of the representatives of the Chamber of Commerce of Potsdam, Brandenburg Region and residence of the Embassy, groups of German SMEs, German-African Economic Association Afrika-Verein, the German-African political association Deutsche Afrika Stiftung, as well as German companies already present in Madagascar was also to be recorded.
The Honorary Consuls of Madagascar in Hamburg, Düsseldorf, Heidelberg and Austria also honored the celebration with their presence, as well as the Malagasy Diaspora.
The representative of the German Government and the Chargé d’Affaires ai stressed the good bilateral cooperation in the fields of energy, environment and decentralization and expressed the wish to intensify it in other sectors, especially including vocational training, while framing the departure of Malagasy youth to Germany and strengthening the presence of economic operators in a win-win principle and within a global context.
The promotion of the “Vita Malagasy” was highlighted, since besides the great success of the craft and spice products put on sale, the guests were able to taste the famous “Dzama Rhum” on the stand dedicated to the German company Haromex, exclusive distributor of Dzama premium spirits products in the German niche market since 2010.
The photo exhibition, as well as the background and history of the signing of the Treaty of Peace, Friendship and Commerce between Germany and Madagascar, as well as those related to the promotion of Malagasy tourism was also highlighted by the generous contribution of a German photographer, fallen in love with Madagascar, having visited all parts of the Island in 2017 with his wife.
The guests warmly appreciated the Malagasy culinary dishes, in a warm and friendly atmosphere punctuated by the music of the Big Island.
This outstanding celebration was widely reported on June 27 in Brandenburg by the regional media, namely Märkisches Allgemeine, Falkensee Aktuel, as well as the next edition of Diplomatisches Magazin.