GERMANY: Germany's first female Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen, receives her Israeli counterpart in Berlin to discuss the Middle East as part of Moshe Yaalon's two-day visit to Germany

Record ID: 397999

  • Title: GERMANY: Germany's first female Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen, receives her Israeli counterpart in Berlin to discuss the Middle East as part of Moshe Yaalon's two-day visit to Germany
  • Date: 30th January 2014
  • Summary: OFFICIALS LOOKING ON, AMONG THEM ISRAELI AMBASSADOR TO GERMANY, YACOV-DAVID HADAS HANDELSMAN (IN BLACK DOWN JACKET IN FOREGROUND) GERMAN AND ISRAELI FLAGS FLYING YAALON AND VON DER LEYEN STEPPING IN FRONT OF MICROPHONES (SOUNDBITE) (German) GERMAN DEFENCE MINISTER URSULA VON DER LEYEN, SAYING: "This is the first foreign guest I have the pleasure of welcoming here in my fu
  • Embargoed: 14th February 2014 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Germany
  • Country: Germany
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA7U6OMSQSL21Z9MDPH7POJNCJK
  • Story Text: The defence ministers of Germany and Israel were to discuss the Middle East during a meeting in Berlin on Thursday (January 31), according to Ursula von der Leyen, Germany's first female head of the armed forces.
    "This is the first foreign guest I have the pleasure of welcoming here in my function as defence minister," the former German labour minister said who is a medical doctor by profession.

    "It shows the special relationship between Germany and Israel. We will hold interesting discussions about the Middle East. I am anxious to find out how my colleague views the situation there," said von der Leyen before she and her Israeli counterpart Moshe Yaalon laid a wreath at the cenotaph.
    Yaalon thanked Germany for its support and said he "appreciated very much the cooperation between Germany and Israel."

    "Knowing very well the relationship, the good cooperation between our two countries, looking back to the dark past but looking to the bright future, these two democracies sharing the same values, I believe sharing the same interests, challenged by common threats like terror, rockets, missiles, weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East and beyond," said Yaalon.
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