Germany to provide €191m for sustainable development of Bangladesh

Germany will provide €191 million to Bangladesh in the form of technical cooperation and financial cooperation for the sustainable development of the country, reports BSS.
In this regard, two bilateral agreements on Development Cooperation were signed on Sunday between the Governments of Bangladesh and Germany following up on the commitments of the last government negotiations in December 2022.
The total volume of the agreements is €191 million (about Tk 2,215 crore) of which €55 million will be available as Technical Cooperation (TC) and €136 million for Financial Cooperation (FC), said a press release.
Sharifa Khan, Secretary, Economic Relations Divisions and Jan Janowski, Charg, d'Affaires a.i. of the Federal Republic of Germany in Bangladesh signed the agreements on behalf of the two governments. The signing ceremony was attended by high officials from the Government of Bangladesh and the German Embassy in Dhaka as well as from officials and experts from the main implementing agencies within German Development Cooperation, i.e. GIZ for the technical cooperation and KfW for the financial cooperation.
The projects under the technical cooperation agreement are 1. Policy Advisory for Promoting Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, up to €4.0 million, 2. Energy Efficiency and Grid Integration of Renewable Energy II, up to €2.0 million, 3. Advanced Vocational Training and Promotion of Employment for Female Textile Workers, up to €5 million, 4.0. Energy Efficiency for Sustainable Development, up to €7.0 million, 5. Professional Education in Industrial and Environmental Safety, up to €7.0 million, 6. Innovations for Climate-Smart Urban Development, up to €7.0 million, 7. Programme for Sustainability in the Textile and Leather Sector II, up to €5.0 million, 8. Vocational Training in the Field of Renewable Energy, up to €5.0 million, 9. Supporting the Localisation of National Climate Adaption Targets, up to €3.0 million, 10. Socio-Economic Support for Host and Displaced Communities in Cox's Bazar, up to €5.0 million and 11. Strengthening the National Network of Protected Areas in Bangladesh through Advancing Digital Technology, Citizen Science, Fostering Participation of Women and Youth Involvement, up to €5.0 million.
The projects under the Financial Cooperation agreement are 1. Climate Change Adapted Urban Development Programme, Phase V, (UCRIP II), a total of up to €114.5 million (including 100 million preferential loan) and 2. Climate Change Adapted Urban Development, Phase VI, a total of up to €21.5 million.
Germany has been providing financial and technical assistance for the development of Bangladesh since 1972, which amounts to over €3.0 billion.
German - Bangladesh Development Cooperation has a long standing history in supporting climate change adaptation and mitigation, infrastructure, poverty alleviation, good governance and human rights, energy efficiency and renewable energy transition, and recently also the Rohingya and host communities in Cox's Bazar district.
The present agreements mark the continuation of successful bilateral cooperation and will contribute to achieving the SDGs and the Climate Goals of the Paris Agreement. The Federal Republic of Germany operates their technical and financial cooperation activities in Bangladesh through three windows/institutions; GIZ, KfW Development Bank; and BGR.
These institutions are over sighted by the Embassy of Germany in Bangladesh. At present, 23 (twenty three) projects are being financed (loan and grants) by the German government, amounting a total contribution of EUR 452.5 million loan and EUR 161.054 million grant.