As per announcement by the Hamburg’s Senate, the next Matthiae Banquet shall take place on Friday, 28 February, 2020 in the ballroom of Hamburg City Hall. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg as well as German Federal Foreign Minister Heiko Maas have confirmed their participation, and shall hold keynote allocutions during the traditional event.
The invitation of the guests of honour by Mayor Dr. Peter Tschentscher took place in the framework of 70th jubilee of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Until the 1990s, NATO faced the then Warsaw Pact of Eastern European states. Since the fall of the Berlin Wall, the number of member states has increased to 29 countries from Europe and North America.
According to the preamble to its constitution, the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg “wants to be a mediator between all continents and peoples of the world in a spirit of peace”. Against this background, the meeting of the guests of honour in Hamburg City Hall provides the framework for an exchange on peace and security in Europe and on the political aspects of the transatlantic alliance.
The Matthiae Mahl (banquet) is an annual event by the government of Hamburg.
For further information:
Announcement by Hamburg Senate: https://www.hamburg.de/pressearchiv-fhh/13416870/2020-01-03-sk-matthiae-mahl-020/
In the picture NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. The North Atlantic Council met to address current tensions in the Middle East and implications for the NATO training mission in Iraq. Following this meeting NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg shortly addressed the press. Picture by NATO.
