Afghan-German relations

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Afghan-German relations
Location of Germany and Afghanistan
GermanyGermany AfghanistanAfghanistan
Germany Afghanistan

Afghanistan and Germany have been in contact with each other since 1915. Diplomatic relations between the two countries began in 1921. Afghanistan operates an embassy in Berlin .

On the occasion of the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of Afghan-German friendship in Kabul in 2015, the German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier emphasized in his speech: “(...) we are among friends here.” At the time, more people were living with Afghan origin in Germany than in any other European country. For no other country did Germany provide so much development aid as it did for Afghanistan. Furthermore, up to 1978 there was at least one minister in every Afghan government who either studied at the Nejat secondary school in Kabul, which Germany was involved in building, or studied in Germany.

history

First establishment of diplomatic relations

The first significant diplomatic contact between Germany and Afghanistan took place at the beginning of the First World War . In September 1914, a German delegation was sent to what was then the British protectorate to spark an uprising against the United Kingdom and thus weaken England's position in the First World War . However, the delegation failed due to internal disputes before reaching Afghanistan.

A year later, in September 1915, a German delegation arrived in Kabul and marked the beginning of German-Afghan relations. The incumbent King Amir Habibullah Khan feared the consequences of an uprising against the United Kingdom and rejected the efforts of the German delegates.

Even if their actual goal was not achieved, the delegates made important contacts with Afghans with high positions in society, the state and the economy and the friendship and trade treaty of 1916 came about, in which Germany undertook to deliver rifles, cannons and money also to create a route through Persia to send German skilled workers to Afghanistan. Germany also helped set up and expand arms factories in Afghanistan. The relationship between the two nations became more complicated when Russia tried to invade Afghanistan and the Germans failed to help. As a result, the delegation left Kabul on May 20, 1916.

Development after the recognition of the independence of Afghanistan

After the United Kingdom recognized Afghanistan's independence on August 8, 1919 with the Treaty of Rāwalpindi, Afghanistan began to develop its foreign policy relations with Asian and European countries. Afghanistan resumed contact with Germany in April 1921. As a result, the Deutsch-Orientalische Handelsgesellschaft AG was founded in 1923, which was renamed the Deutsch-Afghanische Compagnie AG in 1926 and was intended to strengthen the German-Afghan economic connection. In March of the same year the German-Afghan friendship treaty of 1926 was signed, which replaced the treaty of 1916. In this treaty the countries promised each other inviolable peace, sincere friendship and constant contact through envoys. Even before the contract was signed, several hundred German specialists were in Afghanistan, helping, among other things, with the construction of waterways and dams. In 1924, Germany also supported the establishment of the Nejat secondary school in Kabul.

Relationship during World War II

Despite multiple changes of power, friendly relations between Afghanistan and Germany continued and Germany was still considered an important partner for modernization of Afghanistan. Nonetheless, in 1933 , the former Afghan Prime Minister Hashim Khan expressed himself critical of Hitler's aggressive policies . The German-Afghan cooperation was continued, for example in the training of Afghan technicians, the construction of several power stations from 1936 to 1941, the establishment of a flight connection between Berlin and Kabul in May 1938 and a loan to Afghanistan of 50 million marks for industrial projects should be funded. Despite the good relations to date, Afghanistan was not ready to fight on the side of Germany in World War II and declared itself neutral on December 6, 1939. Afghanistan expelled all members of the Axis powers who did not hold a diplomatic position from the country. Relations between the Kingdom of Afghanistan and the German Reich came to a temporary end in March 1945.

Relations between Afghanistan and the Federal Republic of Germany

The former German State Secretary Arthur Bülow receives the then Afghan State Secretary.

Afghanistan was one of the first countries to recognize the Federal Republic of Germany as the successor to the German Reich and did so even before official relations were resumed on December 22, 1954. Towards the end of the 1940s, Ghulam introduced Mohammad Farhad , who had studied in Germany and later He became mayor of Kabul , several German Afghanistan experts and representatives of German companies in his Afghan Electric Company . In 1950, 20 Afghans received a scholarship to study in Germany; others followed. In 1952 the Afghan Cultural Office was opened in Munich, followed by branches of Afghan trade delegations. The Afghan trade delegation in Hamburg has long been the most important point of contact for external trade in Europe and the USA . After official diplomatic relations were restored, the Federal Republic of Germany continued to support Afghanistan in the modernization process in the country. This was followed by the agreement between the government of the Federal Republic of Germany and the government of the Kingdom of Afghanistan on economic and technical cooperation of January 31, 1958. After the overthrow of the Afghan monarchy in 1973 and the proclamation of the republic, relations between the Federal Republic of Germany and the Republic of Afghanistan initially one. In order to restore relations with Afghanistan, the acting State Minister of the Foreign Office Karl Moersch visited the country in 1976. With the overthrow of the Republic of Afghanistan and the proclamation of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan in 1987 as well as the invasion of the Soviet military troops in 1979, diplomatic relations between Germany and Germany ended Afghanistan again and were resumed in 2001.

German armed forces in Afghanistan

Chancellor Angela Merkel and Lieutenant General Hans-Werner Fritz in Afghanistan

After the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, for the first time in NATO history, the alliance case came into effect on the initiative of the United States of America . The German Bundestag approved the deployment of German armed forces to Afghanistan as part of the on 22 December 2001 International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) to. The task was to ensure the implementation of Resolution 1386 of the UN Security Council of December 20, 2001.

The ISAF mandate ended on December 31, 2014. Immediately afterwards, on January 1, 2015, the Resolute Support Mission (RSM) began . The German Bundestag approved the deployment of RSM armed forces on December 18, 2014.

As part of the RSM , the Federal Republic of Germany can send up to 980 armed forces to Afghanistan. Your task is to train, advise and support Afghan security forces and institutions.

The German Bundestag approved the extension of the RSM's mandate until 31 December 2016 on 17 December, 2015.

Reconstruction measures

German aid for Afghanistan focuses on civil reconstruction in the north of the country.

National projects of the Afghan government for reconstruction in other parts of the country are also being supported. Germany is one of the three largest investors in Afghanistan . From 2001 to 2015, almost 4.1 billion euros flowed in support. With these aid funds, the infrastructure is to be rebuilt or improved, the building of the police force and the strengthening of political and state institutions are to be supported.

German investors pay special attention to long-term water and energy supplies, as well as income and employment promotion. Several million of the funds a year are invested in the cultural development of Afghanistan.

In addition to the reconstruction of Afghan schools and support for the training of teachers, this also includes the German-Afghan university cooperation, which provides scholarships for master's and PhD courses to enable Afghan students to study in Germany .

economy

Germany belongs with exports worth over 165 million euros (2013), of which motor vehicles and motor vehicle parts worth over 80 million euros and an import of over 13 million euros (2013) to Afghanistan 's main trading partners in Europe . Germany supports the Afghanistan Investment Support Agency of the Afghan government. This advertises with the fast growing market and Afghanistan's strategically important location.

About a third of all public contracts in Afghanistan are awarded by the Afghan government.

German companies and investors are particularly represented in the construction and infrastructure, medical technology and gastronomy sectors. For example, the German company Siemens , which is involved in setting up the telephone network in Afghanistan , and the Essen construction company Hochtief, which is involved in the reconstruction of the road network and in road repair and maintenance. The country also benefits from many returnees in Afghanistan: people who fled to Germany during the time of the Soviet occupation and are now returning to start or rebuild businesses.

See also

literature

  • Matin Baraki: Relations between Afghanistan and the Federal Republic of Germany 1945–1978. (= European university publications. Series 31: Political sciences. Volume 299). Peter Lang, Frankfurt am Main 1996, ISBN 3-631-48179-9 .

Web links

Commons : Afghan-German relations  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Quoted from Frank-Walter Steinmeier: Speech by Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier on the hundredth anniversary of German-Afghan friendship in Kabul. Federal Foreign Office website. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
  2. ^ Relations between Afghanistan and Germany. Federal Foreign Office website. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
  3. ^ Speech by Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier on the centenary of German-Afghan friendship in Kabul. Federal Foreign Office website. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
  4. ^ A b German-Afghan relations through the ages. ( Memento from January 28, 2016 in the web archive archive.today )
  5. ↑ Matin Baraki: Relations between Afghanistan and the Federal Republic of Germany 1945–1978. (= European university publications. Series 31: Political sciences. Volume 299). Peter Lang, Frankfurt am Main 1996, ISBN 3-631-48179-9 , p. 10f.
  6. ↑ Germany and Afghanistan celebrate 100 years of friendship. ( Memento of the original from January 28, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Website of the German Embassy in Kabul. Retrieved January 28, 2016. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.kabul.diplo.de
  7. ↑ Matin Baraki: Relations between Afghanistan and the Federal Republic of Germany 1945–1978. (= European university publications. Series 31: Political sciences. Volume 299). Peter Lang, Frankfurt am Main 1996, ISBN 3-631-48179-9 , p. 13.
  8. ↑ Matin Baraki: Relations between Afghanistan and the Federal Republic of Germany 1945–1978. (= European university publications. Series 31: Political sciences. Volume 299). Peter Lang, Frankfurt am Main 1996, ISBN 3-631-48179-9 , pp. 16f.
  9. ↑ Matin Baraki: Relations between Afghanistan and the Federal Republic of Germany 1945–1978. (= European university publications. Series 31: Political sciences. Volume 299). Peter Lang, Frankfurt am Main 1996, ISBN 3-631-48179-9 , p. 20.
  10. ↑ Schetter, Conrad: Afghanistan in the 19th and 20th centuries . Website of the Federal Agency for Civic Education from June 13, 2012. Accessed on January 28, 2016.
  11. ↑ Matin Baraki: Relations between Afghanistan and the Federal Republic of Germany 1945–1978. (= European university publications. Series 31: Political sciences. Volume 299). Peter Lang, Frankfurt am Main 1996, ISBN 3-631-48179-9 , p. 42.
  12. ^ A. Samad Hamed: The Afghan-German relationship: from an Afghan perspective , p. 5. Website of the specialist committee 1 of the SPD Berlin. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
  13. ^ German-Afghan relations through the ages. ( Memento from January 28, 2016 in the web archive archive.today )
  14. ↑ a b A. Samad Hamed: The Afghan-German relationship: from an Afghan perspective. S. 6. Website of Expert Committee 1 of the SPD Berlin. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
  15. ↑ a b c A. Samad Hamed: The Afghan-German relationship: from an Afghan perspective . S. 7. Website of Expert Committee 1 of the SPD Berlin. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
  16. ^ Stephan Massing: History since 1747 . Suedasien.info website from November 15, 2001. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
  17. ↑ Matin Baraki: Relations between Afghanistan and the Federal Republic of Germany 1945–1978. (= European university publications. Series 31: Political sciences. Volume 299). Peter Lang, Frankfurt am Main 1996, ISBN 3-631-48179-9 , p. 135.
  18. ↑ 100 years of German-Afghan relations website of Deutsche Welle. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
  19. ↑ Collective Defense Article 5. NATO website. Dated December 16, 2015. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
  20. ^ Relations between Germany and Afghanistan - German Armed Forces in Afghanistan . Federal Foreign Office website. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
  21. ↑ Resolutions and decisions of the Security Council from January 1, 2001 to July 31, 2002 - Resolution 1386 . United Nations website. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
  22. ↑ The mission in Afghanistan . Website of the German Bundeswehr. January 16, 2016. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
  23. ^ Relations between Germany and Afghanistan - German Armed Forces in Afghanistan . Federal Foreign Office website. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
  24. ^ German cooperation with Afghanistan. P. 37. Website of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
  25. ^ Resolute Support Mission (RSM, Afghanistan) . ( Memento of the original from January 28, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Website of the German Bundestag. Retrieved January 28, 2016. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.bundestag.de
  26. ^ Relations between Afghanistan and Germany - German engagement for civil reconstruction and humanitarian aid . Federal Foreign Office website. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
  27. ^ Bilateral economic and development cooperation - German commitment to civil reconstruction and humanitarian aid . ( Memento of the original from January 28, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Website of the German Embassy in Kabul. Retrieved January 28, 2016. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.kabul.diplo.de
  28. ^ Education in Afghanistan . ( Memento of the original from January 28, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Website of the German Embassy in Kabul. Retrieved January 28, 2016. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.kabul.diplo.de
  29. ^ Culture and Education - German-Afghan Cultural Relationship Website of the Federal Foreign Office. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
  30. ↑ Export to and import from Afghanistan in comparison after years . Website of the Foreign Trade Portal Bavaria. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
  31. ^ Afghanistan . Observatory of Economic Complexity website. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
  32. ↑ Three good reasons . ( Memento of the original from January 28, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Afghanistan Investment Support Agency website. Retrieved January 28, 2016. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.aisa.org.af
  33. ^ Afghanistan: Perspectives for German Companies . ( Memento from June 11, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Website of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
  34. ^ Mathias Brüggemann: Kabul is attracting German companies. In: Handelsblatt.com , August 1, 2007. Retrieved January 28, 2016.