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Dovetailing external economic promotion and development cooperation – a win win policy
The Federal Foreign Office, the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology and the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development will jointly open the fourth regional conference on the closer dovetailing of external economic promotion and development cooperation in Accra, Ghana, tomorrow.
The joint conference, which runs from 26 to 27 April, is being hosted in close cooperation with the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). This year the event focuses on sub Saharan Africa.
Before departing on his trip to Ghana, South Africa and Mozambique, Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle issued the following statement:
Africa is a continent on the rise, which is harnessing its economic potential ever more effectively. Linking external economic promotion and development cooperation is a necessity, since both activities are pulling in the same direction. Our ministries coordinate their activities closely. German embassies play an important role in opening doors for German businesses in Africa.
Philipp Rösler, the Federal Minister of Economics and Technology, stated:
With our proven range of instruments we support small and medium sized enterprises active in developing and newly industrialized countries. Lasting success can only be achieved if the destination countries create a business friendly environment. The private sector is the key driving force behind job creation.
Hans Jürgen Beerfeltz, State Secretary at the Development Ministry, stated:
The aims pursued by Germany’s development cooperation activities can only be achieved with the greater involvement of our businesses. The private sector is the paramount driving force behind job creation. What our partner countries particularly want is investment by German firms, because German firms are internationally respected for their sense of social and ecological responsibility. The cooperation countries to which our development aid is directed gain valuable specialist knowledge when businesses invest in them. Our support programmes enable German small and medium sized enterprises to expand their operations around the globe and tap new markets. And German taxpayers will pay less if development is promoted more effectively. It’s a classic win win situation.
During the current legislative term, the German Government has adopted a series of specific measures to ensure that its instruments form a more cohesive whole and interact properly with each other. It has, for example, set up new Chambers of Commerce Abroad in selected partner countries, enabled integrated experts from the International Centre for Migration and Development (CIM) to work at German Chambers of Commerce Abroad and partner countries’ national chambers of commerce. It has also carried out feasibility studies concerning investment in developing countries.
Joint press release of the Federal Foreign Office, the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology and the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.