Germany and Britain have bilateral contacts covering a wide range of fields, from exchanges between school children in Britain and Germany to summit meetings involving our Heads of Governments; from football matches between our regional and national teams to exchanges of police officers.

Bilateral and International Cooperation

Britain and Germany work together bilaterally and as partners in a number of organisations. British and German politicians and officials frequently visit each other's country. From Prime Minister and Chancellor to members of Parliament and Bundestag, there are dozens of bilateral meetings every year where a wide range of subjects are discussed. And of course members of the Royal family visit Germany regularly. Many meetings, though, take place elsewhere: in Brussels and the capital cities of the EU member states. Britain and Germany co-operate closely within the EU and other international organisations. The most important ones are:

• The European Union
• The United Nations
• The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO)
• The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)
• The Council of Europe
• The G8 (Group of Eight industrialised nations)

To learn more about British activities in these organisations, just click on their names.

Town Twinning

Over 500 towns in Germany are twinned with a British partner.

Exchanges

• 30,000 school students are exchanged each year, including nearly 1,000 assistant teachers
• 12,000+ German students are studying at UK universities; about 3,000 British students are studying in Germany
• 2 million British tourists visit Germany each year, 3.5 million Germans visit the UK
• There are about 100,000 Germans living in the UK, and around 120,000.Britons living in Germany

Young Koenigswinter is the child of the Koenigswinter Conference. It brings together each summer a group of young (under 30) Germans and Britons to discuss current issues of mutual interest.

The annual British-German Forum at Wilton Park

The British-German Forum is an an annual event, sponsored by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, to bring together 40 young "high flyers" from the United Kingdom and Germany for four days to discuss key issues of relevance to both countries. The Forum takes place in an English country house outside London.

The Royal Family's links to Germany

The Royal Family's links to Germany go back to the early 18th century. All the Kings and Queens from the House of Hanover were married to Germans. Queen Victoria, the last of the Hanoverian monarchs and great great grandmother of the present Queen, married Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Five of their nine children married Germans. There must be thousands of descendants of Queen Victoria in Germany today.

Visit the official Royal Website

Bilateral Associations

Deutsch-Britische Gesellschaft e.V
Albrechtstr. 22
10117 Berlin
Tel. ++49 (0)30/203 985 0 /
Fax: ++49 (0)30/203 985 16
Konaktperson: Annette Becker
E-Mail: headoffice@debrige.de
Internet: www.debrige.de

The Deutsch-Britische Gesellschaft was founded in 1949 with the aim of strengthening relations with the United Kingdom at all levels of public and cultural life. Inter alia, it organises the Koenigswinter Conference, an annual meeting of around 130 prominent figures from both countries, held alternatively in the UK and Germany. The DBG has a network of branches around Germany.

British German Association
34 Belgrave Square
London, SW1X 8QB
Tel (0044) (0) 20 7235 1922;
Fax (0044) (0) 20 7235 1902.

The British German Association, a registered charity, seeks to promote the closest possible understanding between the United Kingdom and Germany. Its office acts as a central clearing house in this field, and the association organises events in the London area, while its affiliated societies run varied programmes throughout the UK.

Anglo-German Foundation
34 Belgrave Square
London SW1X 8DZ
Telephone: +44 (0)20 7823 1123
Fax: +44 (0)20 7823 2324

The Anglo-German Foundation was established in 1973 by an agreement between the British and German governments following a state visit by the then German President, Gustav Heinemann. The Foundation is incorporated by Royal Charter and awards £500,000 - £600,000 per year in grants for British-German collaborative research projects, seminars, workshops and conferences.

German-British Forum
German-British Forum
c/o Institute for German Studies
European Research Institute
University of Birmingham
Birmingham
B15 2TT
Telephone +44 (0)121 414 8573
Fax +44 (0)121 7329

A privately funded organisation set up in 1995 by David Marsh of Flemings The Forum supports ventures in the political, social and economic fields, aimed at increasing understanding and knowledge among Britons and Germans about the partner country. It gives high priority to raising and improving the profile of the German-British partnership in the media and public opinion.