German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil and Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Tuesday that Canada's decision to select TKMS, a German company, to build 12 submarines for their navy is good news for Germany and NATO collective security.

Merz, speaking in Berlin about a NATO summit that begins on Tuesday in Ankara, said: "With this announcement, we will send a strong signal in support of the transatlantic and European collaboration at the beginning of 'the summit.

He added, "For this truly is a strategic initiative which?will bind Canada Germany and Norway as partners in the North Atlantic region for decades to come."

TKMS was the winner of a bid from South Korea's Hanwha Ocean, which is majority owned by German conglomerate Thyssenkrupp.

Klingbeil stated that "this is a sign for this area as a whole and for Made in Germany. That we won in such a fierce international competition speaks volumes about our engineering expertise, manufacturing know-how, our know-how and what can be achieved at these sites."

He said that the agreement "goes beyond the economic deal" and has geopolitical ramifications.

Klingbeil stated that "at a time of global reorganization, having Canada and Norway by our side and strengthening these alliances further is very important." (Reporting by Maria Martinez, Friederike Heine and Kirsti Knolle; editing by Linda Pasquini and Kirsti Knolle)

(source: Reuters)