Diplomatic relations between Germany and Tuvalu were established on 26 June 1979. The German Embassy in Wellington, New Zealand, is responsible for Tuvalu.

In November 2017, Tuvalu’s then Prime Minister Enele Sopoaga led a delegation to the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 23) in Bonn, where he also hosted a workshop. In September 2023, then Prime Minister Kausea Natano personally represented his country during advisory proceedings on climate change initiated by Tuvalu before the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in Hamburg.

Bilateral trade between Germany and Tuvalu is modest. According to Federal Statistical Office figures, Germany exported goods worth 104,000 euro to Tuvalu in 2022 and imported goods worth a mere 1.949 million euro.

Germany supports Tuvalu’s development through its contributions to the European Union’s Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI) – previously, until 2021, the European Development Fund (EDF).

The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH also carries out various projects in the Pacific island states from which Tuvalu benefits. The regional project Coping with Climate Change in the Pacific Island Region strengthened capacities for adapting to climate change in the region by providing advisory services between 2009 and 2021. Germany is also involved in microprojects in Tuvalu.

Tuvalu is a member of the Group of Friends on Climate and Security in the United Nations. In September 2023, Germany and Tuvalu launched the Coalition for Addressing Sea-level Rise and its Existential Threat (C-SET).