Erich Honecker's 1987 visit to West Germany

The five-day event was rated as an important step in the development of cross-German relations as well as Ostpolitik, which was implemented beginning with Willy Brandt, Chancellor of West Germany from 1969 to 1974.

In autumn 1986, Mikhail Gorbachev sent a message to Honecker giving him consent to visit Bonn, which was a result of his own efforts to establish closer contacts with Western countries as part of the reorientation of Soviet politics through the policies of Glasnost and Perestroika.

After an initial exchange of pleasantries between the two leaders, Honecker was invited into the neighboring Hammerschmidt Villa for a meeting with Federal President Weizsäcker for a working lunch.

The afternoon of the first day of visit was mainly devoted to discussions in the Federal Chancellery, where it mainly went to topics such as travel and visitor traffic, border determination in the Elbe section, minimum exchange, town twinning and the shooting order.

In the evening, the federal government hosted a dinner for the delegations in the Redoute, where in the table speeches the basic political positions of the heads of state were exchanged.

[2] Also on 8 September a joint communiqué was published, in which the governments of the FRG and the GDR affirmed their intention "to develop normal good neighborly relations based on equality within the meaning of the Basic Treaty".

He flew to Nörvenich Air Base by a helicopter provided by the Federal Border Police and then was driven to Düsseldorf, where he with Minister-President Johannes Rau met at Schloss Benrath.

In the villa he met with leading representatives of the German economy, including Berthold Beitz, head of the Krupp steel conglomerate) and Carl H. Hahn of Volkswagen.

"After this private part of the visit, Honecker participated in a dinner with Minister President Lafontaine and representatives of the Saarland business and political community at the Dillinger Hütte Casino.

Strauss then hosted a lunch in honor of Honecker in the Hall of the Antiquarium in the Munich Residenz, at which about 130 representatives from Bavarian politics and the economic sphere attended.

The Wachbataillon from the Federal Ministry of Defence provided the honours for the ceremony and the Staff Band of the Bundeswehr performed Auferstanden aus Ruinen and Deutschlandlied.

[2] Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF), a West German television network said his comments in Saarland were "the most important made by Honecker during his visit".