Last updated in March 2010
Political relations
Political relations between Germany and Bangladesh are amicable. In 1972, Germany was one of the first European countries to officially recognize Bangladesh following independence. German reunification was warmly greeted by Bangladesh. Germany enjoys respect not only as a longstanding and reliable partner in development cooperation but also as a trading partner and an important member of the European Union. Germany’s engagement in climate policy and the United Nations is being watched keenly.
The most recent visit to Germany by a Bangladeshi head of government was that of then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in December 2000. Federal Foreign Minister Fischer visited Bangladesh on 16-17 July 2004 for political talks. In March 2008, the German Bundestag’s Committee on Economic Cooperation and Development travelled to Bangladesh. With a visit to Bangladesh shortly after the summoning of the country’s new Parliament (elected on 29 December 2008), the German Bundestag’s German-South Asian Parliamentary Friendship Group paid tribute to Bangladesh’s democratic renewal and made new contacts. In May 2009, a Bangladeshi parliamentary delegation paid a return visit to Germany at the invitation of the German Bundestag. In October 2009, the Federal Government Commissioner for Human Rights Policy and Humanitarian Aid, Günter Nooke, visited Bangladesh together with the Human Rights Ambassadors of the Netherlands and Denmark.
Since Bangladesh came into being, German churches and numerous non-governmental organizations in Germany have, together with their Bangladeshi partner organizations, made determined efforts to promote the country’s social and economic development. Thanks to this and a vigorous information campaign in Germany and Bangladesh, a significant number of people in both countries are favourably disposed towards and well informed about the other country.
Economic relations
Germany is Bangladesh’s second most important export market after the US. The volume of bilateral trade is constantly growing and exceeded the EUR 2 billion mark in 2009. Germany’s imports from and exports to Bangladesh are increasing despite the global economic crisis. In its trade with Germany – as with other Western trading partners – Bangladesh has for years recorded a large surplus. In 2009, German imports from Bangladesh amounted to approximately EUR 1.9 billion as compared with German exports to Bangladesh in the same period of nearly EUR 290 million. More than 90 per cent of imports from Bangladesh are finished garments, German exports mainly comprising machinery, chemical products and electrical goods. Over the past few years, German shipping companies have had an increasing number of ships built in Bangladesh. At some EUR 50-60 million so far, German direct investments in Bangladesh have been fairly insignificant. Following the intensification of trade relations, the local Bangladesh-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BGCCI) was set up in 2003. In November 2008, the BGCCI organized the first German Trade Show in Dhaka and the next is planned for 2011. A German-Bangladeshi investment promotion and protection agreement has been in force since September 1986, and a bilateral double taxation accord since 1993.
Development cooperation
With an annual per capita income of approximately EUR 450 (USD 621), Bangladesh is one of the world’s poorest countries and a priority partner country of German development cooperation. Since the commencement of development cooperation in 1972 up to the end of 2008, Bangladesh has received commitments worth some EUR 2.4 billion from Germany under bilateral Financial and Technical Cooperation. Since 1978, German assistance under government-level cooperation has been exclusively in the form of non-repayable grants. Including the assistance – amounting to approximately EUR 2 billion – provided by Germany through the European Union, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and the UN family, German commitments from 1972 until the end of 2008 total around EUR 4.4 billion. At the most recent intergovernmental negotiations in Dhaka on 20/21 April 2008, a total of EUR 51 million in new commitments was pledged, in particular for energy efficiency measures and local infrastructure development as well as for new gender equality strategies and prison reform. At the next intergovernmental negotiations in Berlin in April 2010, new commitments will be agreed upon with Bangladesh. In December 2008, Germany made available another EUR 4 million to build innovative health funding mechanisms. The three priorities for long-term bilateral cooperation designated in 2006 remain:
- Health, family planning, HIV/AIDS control
- Energy efficiency and renewables
- Good governance, human rights and local development
For Germany’s future engagement in Bangladesh, health care funding and social security systems were identified as important new fields of work. To help deal with the consequences of climate change, three other projects were launched to complement the successful renewable energy projects: a biodiversity conservation project, a reafforestation and sustainable forest management project and a project on crisis-preventive reconstruction in cyclone-affected coastal regions.Besides government assistance, substantial funds are provided by Germany’s non-governmental organizations (churches, non-profit, social and charitable organizations) and some of Germany’s federal states, in particular Baden-Württemberg and Hesse.
Cultural cooperation
The Goethe Institute in Dhanmondi is the first stop for all those in Bangladesh who are interested in German language and culture. Every year, more than 700 Bangladeshis learn German there. The Institute’s library offers information on German literature, history and politics, and the rooftop café, like the auditorium, is a meeting place and forum for young intellectuals, artists and representatives of civil society. The events organized by the Goethe Institute range from exhibitions to musical and literary offerings to film festivals and seminars. The Deutsche Welle broadcasting service is highly regarded as a dependable information medium. Very popular are its radio programmes, which can be received throughout the country.
To promote academic exchange between Germany and Bangladesh, every year the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAAD) and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation award scholarships to Bangladeshi students and young scientists and academics. Information on studying in Germany is available from the DAAD Information Point, which offers advice to prospective students, as well as from the German Embassy’s culture department and from the DAAD coordinators at Bangladesh’s universities. A large number of Bangladeshi scientists and academics have already received part of their training in Germany, and over 200 of them are members of alumni associations.
The German Federal Government is committed to preserving Bangladesh’s cultural heritage. For example, the Embassy supported the collection and documentation of the Baul song tradition as well as encouraging the handing down of songs and performance techniques to the young generation.
