50 years of German-Bangladesh development cooperation celebrated in Dhaka

Senior government officials, development partner representatives and civil society people from Bangladesh and Germany have celebrated 50 years of development cooperation between the two friendly countries.

German Parliamentary State Secretary for Development Cooperation Bärbel Kofler, its Ambassador to Bangladesh Achim Tröster spoke at the event organised in Dhaka on Sunday, said a press release.

They discussed pathways for future development cooperation between Bangladesh and Germany.

Bärbel also participated in a panel discussion, titled "For a Just Transition in Bangladesh – The Future of Bangladesh's Economy and the role of Germany-Bangladesh Development Cooperation", with representatives of Picard Bangladesh, the Centre for Policy Dialogue, the International Growth Centre, the International Labour Organisation and the Economy of Tomorrow Fellowship Programme of Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Bangladesh.

The German development cooperation with Bangladesh is focusing on intervention in technical and vocational education and training, socially and environmentally sound supply chains, trade and sustainable infrastructure, renewable energy and energy efficiency, sustainable urban development, and biodiversity.

Currently, the volume of this portfolio and additional development measures to tackle especially the Rohingya crisis and support host communities (amounting to €166 million) is about €1.1 billion, the release reads.

Within this portfolio, the major share of €680 million is for activities related to climate change (adaptation and mitigation) as well as energy.

The next government negotiations to discuss future cooperation and possible further commitments will take place on 7 and 8 December in Berlin, it adds.