German President Joachim Gauck called upon the nation to play a stronger role in international affairs and to work more closely with the emerging nations as Germany marked the 23rd anniversary of its reunification.
"Our nation is not an island. We should not be under the illusion that we will be spared from political, economic, ecological and military conflicts if we do not participate in finding their solutions," Gauck said in his key-note address at the official commemoration ceremony held in Stuttgart yesterday.
"Germany should ask itself whether it is living up to its responsibilities towards its neighbours in eastern Europe, in the Middle East and in the southern Mediterranean and whether it is doing enough to win the aspiring emerging nations to become partners on the international stage," he said.
If Germany is seeking a permanent seat in the UN Security Council, it should decide what role it is prepared to play in conflicts in far flung regions of the world, he said.
Chancellor Angela Merkel and several cabinet colleagues, Norbert Lammert, president of the Bundestag, lower house of parliament, Andreas Vosskuehle, president of the Federal Constitutional Court, representatives of state governments and parliamentarians were present at the ceremony.
It was hosted by state premier of Baaden Wuerttemberg Winfried Kretschmann, who currently holds the rotating presidency of the Bundesrat, the upper house.
The president said he does not want Germany to become powerful to impose its will on others.
Neither he liked the idea that his country plays itself down just to avoid taking risks or expressing solidarity, Gauck said.
Gauck, a former protestant theologian, who played a leading role in the peaceful revolution in the former East Germany, which led to the collapse of the communist regime 24 years ago, paid tributes to the people, who fought to liberate themselves from the dictatorship.
A mass movement inspired by a few hundred demonstrators in Leipzig contributed to the collapse of the Berlin Wall in November 1989 and the country's reunification a year later.
Chancellor Merkel, who grew up in former East Germany, said this process has not been completed and large disparities still existed between the two parts of the formerly divided nation even 23 years after the reunification.
She said during the celebrations in Stuttgart that unemployment is much higher in the former East Germany than in the West and while employed in the east received a smaller pay package than their counterparts in the west.
The day of German unity celebrations began in Stuttgart with an ecumenical service conducted jointly by Catholic and Protestant churches and it was attended by chancellor Merkel, her cabinet colleagues and other leaders.
Several thousand people took part in concerts and other cultural events in Stuttgart city throughout the day.
Similar celebrations to commemorate the reunification anniversary were held in major cities across the country.
