 Congratulations to International IDEA on its 25th anniversary. The German government is proud to be a member of International IDEA. Over the past 25 years, International IDEA has proven to be an important thing and do think for the promotion of democracy around the globe. Nowadays, this task is more important than ever. The world faces an erosion of democratic systems and of civic and political space, worsened by COVID-19 crisis. We have to protect democratic values in all parts of the world. Germany is strongly committed to this challenge. German Development Corporation is focusing on democracy protection and promotion in more than 40 partner countries and we are very happy to partner with International IDEA in this endeavor.