Berlin: Germany is looking towards Australia's success as a multicultural nation as it prepares to accept up to one million refugees fleeing conflict in the Middle East.
Minister of State Maria B&ouml;hmer said on Thursday Germany is only just beginning to acknowledge that like Australia it too is an immigrant nation. In 2014, the OECD named Germany as the world's second top destination country for migrants after the United States.  
Chancellor Angela Merkel continues to face internal pressure over her open-door refugee policy, with expectations the number of asylum seekers to reach Germany in 2015 could reach one million. 
Ms B&ouml;hmer told Australian journalists that with 60 million refugees on the move around the world the topic would continue to dominate global denate for "years to come."
"Germany is new to acknowledge that it is an immigrant country???Australia has a lot of experience in this area [of diversity]," she said.
"For Germany the topic of refugees is predominant and it will be important to have an exchange [with Australia]," the minister said.
Ms B&ouml;hmer said a major issue would be the recognition of a migrant's professional qualifications, such as university degrees obtained in their home countries. Germany introduced a law to recognise such qualifications some years ago.
The minister said many countries are looking to harness the natural innovative streaks many migrants exhibit and a key focus would be establishing business links between Australian and German companies to help train and employ more migrants. Germany believes migrants will act as a key counter to its ageing population.
Australian companies are being invited to attend the German Government's Day of Diversity in 2016 as part of the collaboration and Berlin hopes companies already operating in both countries, like SAP and Daimler, will establish a forum for talks with other businesses.
As of   November 2015, the number of asylum applications made to Germany in 2015 totalled 425, 035 - a whopping 134.2 per cent increase on the year before.
Germany's Federal Office for Migration said 965, 000 asylum seekers mostly comprised of Syrians, Afghans, Iraqis and Albanians arrived in Germany in the same time period, far exceeding the 800, 000 arrivals forecast by the Federal Minister for the Interior in   August.
Ms B&ouml;hmer co-chairs the Australia-German Advisory Group established in 2014 with Finance Minister Mathias Cormann.   Senator Cormann was born in Belgium and speaks several languages including German.
The Group and the long-neglected bilateral relationship has had new life breathed into it with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's emphasis on innovation and science policy.  Mr Turnbull's wife, Lucy Turnbull is also a member of the advisory group as well as the President of the German-Australian Chamber of Commerce.
Germany is the world's fourth largest economy but according to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Australia's total goods and services exports to Germany were worth only $2.9 billion in 2014.  In comparison, Germany sold $13.9 billion worth of goods and services to Australia in 2014.
2nd meeting of Australia-Germany Advisory Group underway with @MariaBoehmer, to strengthen our relationship. pic.twitter.com/1yGHa5yYIn
??? Mathias Cormann (@MathiasCormann)      October 23, 2015
In   November, the Group made 59 recommendations to Chancellor Merkel and Prime Minister Turnbull on how to improve business and people-to-people links and even increase collaboration on wine-making and football.
"We have been provided with many important impulses as regards a security dialogue, as regards to cooperation in the field of science and education, the whole breadth of immigration issues," Chancellor Merkel said of the recommendations at the time.  Both countries have ambitiously pledged to implement the recommendations by the end of 2016.
Latika Bourke travelled to Germany as a guest of the German government.      
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