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Horst Köhler was born in 1943 in Skierbieszòw, Poland, of peasant parents of German origin. He started his political career after studying economics at the University of Tübingen. He was elected ninth President of the Federal Republic of Germany on May 23, 2004.

EPA: Your insistence in wanting to meet and discuss with Beninese and African artists and people of culture was surprising. What really motivated you?

H.E. Mr. Horst Köhler: There are at least two reasons. The first is that throughout my personal life as well as in the context of my work, I have seen inequality between human beings, and that has always been very painful to me. But at the same time, and especially in Africa where there is great poverty and where one sometimes lives with the dread of not being able to survive, I realised that thanks to artists, there may be harmony, hope, ideas, inspiration; and this is very important. Art can give us hope.
The second reason is that since I was a schoolboy and then later in my youth, I always knew that jazz had its roots in Africa. That is how I came very early into contact with African culture. I wanted to concretise my interest in this culture by making it known to many more people in Germany, in Europe, because I am persuaded that they could learn a lot from Africa.

EPA: How do you like globalisation? What are the negative consequences that worry you most? And what are its positive consequences that artists and people of culture should pay particular attention to?

H.E. Mr. Horst Köhler: You ask many questions, and I will try to answer them. But before, I would like to say something concerning our previous discussion. According to my own experience, I think that it is very important that Africans get re-united with their conscience, their pride as Africans and within Africa. However, this is no simple matter when one considers history linked to the slave trade and to colonisation by the Western world. But you must find the right way, find it by yourselves, because if you imitate others, you won't get anywhere. Consciousness of one's being and self-pride are important in order to impose one's self in an international world, in a globalised world.
To come back to globalisation, I would say that it is neither good nor bad. Globalisation depends only on what we, as human beings, want to do with it. That is why globalisation needs to be politically organised. By taking advantage of a good political organisation, we should ask ourselves what are the best ways, because no one in the world, be it in Africa, Asia, America or Europe, should resign themselves to poverty.
It is important to stress that no country has a recipe for globalisation, which could be applicable to everyone, that shows how to take advantage of its good aspects, and how to fight against or eliminate its bad aspects.

It is also important to stress that the world population is growing constantly. Today we are 6 billion on earth and if demographic growth goes on as it is, particularly in Africa, there will be 9 billion people on earth in 2030 or 2050. They will all want to be fed and will have to be fed. We should therefore understand that we live on a planet whose available riches are becoming scarce and we should not under rate the means and the experience that we possess to face this. I therefore think that for a positive organisation of globalisation we should accept competition as a regulative factor. Competition encourages us to improve ourselves, to have better ideas. Thanks to competition we become more creative, we mobilise energy. And Africa cannot stay away from this competition factor, whether it is in the area of handicraft or ecology!! I have not given precise answers here, but it doesn't mean that you will not obtain any support, but the principle of competition and the necessity of being responsible, for oneself and for the nation, must be accepted.

EPA: Thank you very much.

N.B. Translated from German with the help of the German embassy in Benin.