German Foreign Ministers (cont.)

... Fischer argued that the US-led invasion of Iraq has led directly to an increasing influence of Iran in the region. For countries in the Middle East the focus has been taken off the Palestine-Israel conflict, and the current biggest potential threat to countries in the region such as Saudi Arabia and Syria, for instance, is Shia-dominated Iran, due to its population, Shia majority, historical dominance in the area, and regional ambitions. He stressed that each issue in the Palestinian-Israeli dispute has been negotiated literally hundreds of times, and what is lacking is the will from the US administration and others to encourage the parties to come to a lasting agreement. He also feels the US should actively engage others in the Middle East for collective help in containing Iran, as well.

Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier speaks to an Audience Member, photo by E. Kotila

Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier
In August, Current Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier visited Berkeley where he met with faculty, members of the German diplomatic community, and students at the Faculty Club. Introduced by Chancellor and physicist Robert J. Birgeneau, who nostalgically recounted his time abroad at the Max Planck Institute of Sciences in Leipzig, Germany, Minister Steinmeier spoke briefly on Germany’s effort to combat global warming and Germany’s support for joint academic cooperation between institutions of higher education in Germany and UC Berkeley. He met privately with faculty at Berkeley devoted to scientific cooperation and to politics and history, including IES’s Director Prof. John Efron and Associate Director and specialist in German politics, Beverly Crawford.