Hans-Friedrich von Ploetz: Our bilateral relations have never been better

From a speech given by the German ambassador to the Royal Institute of International Affairs, Chatham House, London

European nations have sometimes strange perceptions about their neighbours. They are based on an odd mixture of ideas, comparisons and stereotypes. This behaviour is not limited to nationality. It's the same with attitudes to other tribes inside our national borders. I learnt the hard way in Manchester that I should not have mentioned Yorkshire there, even if only in the context of my own family ties.

Most of the stereotypes mix up past experience with present, often based on a remarkable degree of ignorance. "The Sun met the Hun" was the front page headline after one of my predecessors had talked to The Sun's editors. Very funny indeed. But weren't Huns the nomads who invaded Germany and other parts of Western Europe in the fourth century?

But then, people in Bonn think that Asia begins on the eastern side of the Rhine river.

For me the challenge became immediately clear: "Hun, go and meet The Sun!" that is: talk to the people up and down the country.

If it is true that peoples cannot choose their neighbours, it is also true that they can consciously shape this involuntary proximity, and turn it into good-neighbourliness. I think the Germans and French have discovered that such conscious efforts to promote neighbourly relations can be a source of productive mutual development.

The same can be said about German-British relations, even if published opinion does not always reflect this happy state of affairs. It was the late Sir Frank Roberts who reminded us that the trouble with relations between Britain and Germany was only that they had become so good people took them for granted.

Even generally well informed people are often surprised to learn in how many troublespots of the world German and British forces are serving together today to re-establish peace.

Our bilateral relations have never been better. Co-operation between our governments is truly close and founded on a strong spirit of mutual trust.