(Newswire.net — April 26, 2016) —President of the United States Barack Obama joined German Chancellor Angela Merkel in opening the HANNOVER MESSE 2016 as the partner country of the world’s leading trade fair for industrial technology.
At the opening ceremony on Sunday, Obama talked about the future that Europe and the US are building together.
He began with the observation of how fortunate we are to be living in this era in human history.
“We are fortunate to be living in the most peaceful, most prosperous, most progressive era in human history. That may surprise young people who are watching TV or looking at your phones and it seems like only bad news comes through every day. But consider that it’s been decades since the last war between major powers. More people live in democracies. We’re wealthier and healthier and better educated, with a global economy that has lifted up more than a billion people from extreme poverty, and created new middle classes from the Americas to Africa to Asia. Think about the health of the average person in the world – tens of millions of lives that we now save from disease and infant mortality, and people now living longer lives”, said president Obama in Hanover, and added:
“If you had to choose a moment in time to be born, any time in human history, and you didn’t know ahead of time what nationality you were or what gender or what your economic status might be, you’d choose today – which isn’t to say that there is not still enormous suffering and enormous tragedy and so much work for us to do. It is to remember that the trajectory of our history over the last 50, 100 years has been remarkable. And we can’t take that for granted, and we should take confidence in our ability to be able to shape our own destiny.”
President Obama also addressed terrorism in the world. He talked about extremists who have slaughtered innocent people in Paris and Brussels, and Istanbul and San Bernardino, California. He commented on the conflicts from South Sudan to Syria to Afghanistan, which have sent millions of refugees to Europe.
“Right now, the most urgent threat to our nations is ISIL, and that’s why we’re united in our determination to destroy it. And all 28 NATO allies are contributing to our coalition – whether it’s striking ISIL targets in Syria and Iraq, or supporting the air campaign, or training local forces in Iraq, or providing critical humanitarian aid. And we continue to make progress, pushing ISIL back from territory that it controlled”, said Obama.
He stressed in his speech that he came to the heart of Europe to say that the United States, and the entire world, need a strong, prosperous, democratic and united Europe.
President Obama also joked and said that he regrets that he had never been to Germany for Oktoberfest. “So I will have to come back. And I suspect it’s more fun when you’re not President. So my timing will be good.”
The US President visited the HANNOVER MESSE 2016, which runs from April 25-29 in Hanover, and together with the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, he learned about the innovations in industrial technology, tried on virtual reality goggles, and the two leaders also checked out displays that featured robotics and 3D printers
“It’s a brave new world,” Obama said.