Germany restructures development policy
With its Shaping a Global Future Together reform plan, Germany aims to provide even better support for countries in the Global South
Berlin (d.de) – Germany plans to fundamentally restructure its development policy. On 12 January, Development Minister Reem Alabali Radovan presented a reform plan titled “Shaping a Global Future Together”. “We are living in a time of transformation. Our multipolar world is becoming more conflict-ridden and dynamic,” Ms Alabali Radovan said. “I believe that these changes are not only challenges but also an opportunity for Germany to reinforce its role and work towards sustainable international solidarity.”
The activities of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) are to become more strategic, more focussed and more strongly partnership-based. A first step is to diversify the cooperation. Budgetary resources are to be used where they are needed the most: in the world’s least developed countries that are struggling with famine, poverty and inequality. Support for emerging economies such as India, South Africa and Mexico is to be limited to repayable loans in the future.
The ministry generally plans to use its resources in a more targeted manner. Concerning countries of the Global South in particular, the BMZ aims to establish partnerships between equals in which Germany’s interests, too, are clearly communicated. The minister explained that this was a necessary response to new geopolitical realities. “The traditional logic of rich donors and poor receivers is outdated.”
The BMZ’s funds have decreased by some 20 percent since 2020. Nevertheless, Germany continues to be among the world’s largest development cooperation donors.
