Bilateral relations between Germany and Palau are amicable and characterised by shared values. Diplomatic contacts are maintained through the German Embassy in Manila. Germany has an honorary consul in Palau. Then Foreign Minister Baerbock visited the country in July 2022. The Pacific Islands Forum attended by Germany was held in Palau from 30 August to 4 September 2026.

Germany supports Palau’s development through its contributions to the European Union’s Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI). The country also plays a role in Germany’s close climate policy cooperation with the states of the South Pacific region, for example within the framework of regional programmes run by the Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and the Federal Government’s International Climate Initiative (IKI).

Palau is a member of the UN Group of Friends on Climate and Security, founded by Germany and Nauru.

Between 1899 and 1914 Palau was under the control of a German colonial administration. There are hardly any traces of this time, apart from some architectural vestiges of phosphate plants on Angaur Island and the name of a waterway (German Channel). In 2005, Palau National Museum opened a small German department.

The “Krämer volumes” about the German South Seas Expedition (1907–1910) undertaken by the German ethnographers Augustin Krämer (1864–1941) and Anneliese Eilers (1900-1953) remain relevant. The records contained in the seven volumes are still recognised today by Palau’s courts as the only authentic source in tribal disputes or conflicts over property. In the absence of official written records, Augustin Krämer’s records constitute the codified memory of Palau’s culture and identity. The Federal Foreign Office helped fund the translation of the records from German into English.

From 2019 to 2022, a team from the German Archaeological Institute (DAI) and Kiel University investigated Palau’s monumental earthworks. From 2019 to 2021, the DAI ran a project together with local partners to digitalise document monuments at risk from climate change.