Diplomat’s Jan. 14 Presentation to Focus on German-American Trade Opportunities
Contact: George Manlove at (207) 581-3745
ORONO — Trade opportunities and issues between the United States and Germany will be the focus of a talk by a German diplomat Wednesday, Jan. 14, at the University of Maine’s Buchanan Alumni House.
The College of Business, Public Policy and Health, in conjunction with the Portland-based World Affairs Council of Maine, will host Rolf-Dieter Schnelle, the Consul General of the Federal Republic of Germany to the New England States in Boston for a one-day tour of Maine and a meeting with Gov. John Baldacci.
His talk in Orono, beginning at 12:45 p.m., is titled “German-American Trade and Investment Relations — Common Interests & Concerns.”
The talk is free, open to the public and should be of interest to students and faculty involved in international trade studies, in addition to Maine business owners considering business links to Europe, according to Daniel Innis, dean of the College of Business, Public Policy & Health.
“International trade issues are increasingly important to Maine. The governor has shown the importance of overseas connections with his recent trade mission to Ireland, and the King Administration also conducted a trade mission to Germany,” Innis says. “In addition, the University of Maine has a faculty and student exchange relationship with a German university.”
Hosting the consul general both builds on the university’s international studies programming and research, Innis says, and also helps the people of Maine to develop a better understanding of the trade opportunities that exist with Germany.
Innis said he’ll be interested to hear Schnelle’s view on how Maine and the United States can work not just with Germany as a trade partner, but also with the European Union. “His message on the E.U. and its current and future impact on trade will be very valuable,” Innis says.
Schnelle has served as Consul General of Germany in Boston since September of 2002. Previously, he was the director for International Cooperation in Higher Education for the Cultural Affairs Department of the Federal Foreign Office in Bonn and Berlin, Germany, deputy chief of Mission for the German Embassy in Oslo, Norway, and deputy director of the Bureau for Goethe Institute Affairs at the Federal Foreign Office in the Bonn Cultural Affairs Department. He has taught at Sorbonne Nouvelle in Paris and Polytechnic of Central London.
Schnelle is to speak later in the day at Bates College in Lewiston, where he will discuss “The New Europe — Old and New United: A Challenge to the Europeans and the U.S.” at 7:30 p.m. in the Muskie Archives building. On Jan. 15, Schnelle is scheduled to deliver a talk, “Germany and the U.S. — A Troubled Partnership?” at a World Affairs Council breakfast program at the Portland Country Club in Falmouth.
Schnelle’s appearances are being sponsored by the University of Maine, Fairchild Semiconductor, Norman Hanson & DeTroy, LLC, Bates College, the Maine International Trade Center, Maine Bank & Trust and Head and Associates Investment Counsel.