High-ranking officials of Bangladesh and Germany and representatives of other development partners and civil society Sunday celebrated the 50 years of Development Cooperation between both countries.

After a welcome by German Ambassador Achim Tröster, Parliamentary State Secretary for Development Cooperation Bärbel Kofler delivered a speech highlighting achievements and challenges and described pathways for future development cooperation between Bangladesh and Germany.

To better understand the opportunities as well as the obstacles ahead for the sustainable development of Bangladesh, Bärbel participated in the panel discussion “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 Center, the International Labour Organization 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 (mobility, circular economy and waste management), 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.

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 December 7 and 8 in Berlin.