At the request of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), GIZ organised the 109th Government-Federal States Committee on Development Cooperation in Eschborn.
Exchange between BMZ and representatives of the German federal states
Numerous representatives from the federal states attended the meeting on 26 and 27 September and discussed current issues and challenges in development cooperation between the federal and state governments. The BMZ was represented by sub-division head Constanze Neher, among others.
The German Government and Federal States Programme, which is implemented for the BMZ by the GIZ regional offices in Germany and managed from Hamburg, also reported at the meeting. The programme is a key instrument of cooperation for taking up the development cooperation commitment of the federal states and linking it with development cooperation (DC) at federal level. The exchange with BMZ and the state representatives was used, for example, to discuss further project proposals with Ukraine, options for involving the municipal level in projects, DC-relevant training programmes for the states and the challenges of financial accounting.
The German Government and Federal States Programme is currently implementing 12 cooperation projects between German federal states and partner countries. Since its launch in 2015, it has implemented 72 cooperation projects in 29 partner countries worldwide with a regional focus on Africa. It is aligned with the core themes of the BMZ. The individual projects are implemented in close coordination with GIZ programmes on the ground.
BLP is a fixed item on the agenda
The two-day event in Eschborn was led by the responsible BMZ division for federal states and municipalities (G43) and concluded on the first day with a reception hosted by GIZ Board Spokesperson Thorsten Schäfer-Gümbel. Current developments in development cooperation were discussed in depth with the findings of the committee meeting. Other topics discussed by the committee included the mobilisation of civil society involvement in development cooperation, the promotion of development education, fair and sustainable procurement and municipal development policy.
The organisation and location of the Government-Federal States Committee rotates annually between the BMZ and individual federal states. The German Government and Federal States Programme has been a fixed item on the agenda of the committee meetings since its launch.
Author: Jens Narten
Management German Government and Federal States Programme: Dieter Anders