Bangladeshi-German relations

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Location: Germany and Bangladesh
Location of Germany and Bangladesh
GermanyGermany BangladeshBangladesh
Germany Bangladesh

The Bangladeshi-German relations describe the bilateral relationship between Bangladesh and Germany .

When the People's Republic of Bangladesh was proclaimed on December 16, 1971, Germany was one of the first countries in Europe to establish diplomatic relations with Bangladesh. It became apparent early on that the relationship between the two countries was important for the reconstruction, as the war of independence had left Bangladesh heavily damaged. Today trade between the two countries plays a significant role and represents the greatest opportunity for sustainable development for Bangladesh.

Bangladesh is represented by an embassy in Berlin. The German government has had an embassy in Dhaka since 1972 . Both are members of the United Nations , the World Bank and the WTO .

Political Relations

Germany played a neutral role in relation to the tensions in the Indo-Pakistani conflict. When building political relationships, care was therefore taken not to excessively favor any of the conflicting parties. After the recognition of Bangladesh, many similarities emerged, especially in questions of international foreign policy. The German government supported and valued Bangladesh's position on the international stage. Bangladesh returned this respect with its moral support on the question of German reunification.

Recently, the human rights situation in Bangladesh has become the focus of political debates in Germany. German politicians take their responsibility with regard to the precarious working conditions in Bangladeshi textile factories seriously . So it was decided to build an alliance, German companies against inhumane working conditions.

"We are well on the way to achieving better social and environmental standards for the seamstresses in Bangladesh [...]."

- Gerd Müller , Federal Development Minister

The scope of this decision is doubtful, however, as the development minister's confidence is not shared by all the companies involved.

Economic relationships

Bangladesh's growth has been constant at around 6 percent since 2006. The main aim of Bangladesh's economic policy is to establish Bangladesh as a middle-income country .

The bilateral trade volume of Germany and Bangladesh amounts to a total of 4.39 billion euros. Germany's share of the export volume from Bangladesh is the second largest (after the USA) with 3.79 billion euros. Imports from Germany are significantly lower at around EUR 0.599 billion. Textiles are mainly exported to Germany (over 90 percent). The largest components of the Bangladeshi import consist of: machines (52 percent), chemical products (23 percent) and electrical goods (8 percent).

The German-Bangladeshi Chamber of Commerce "Bangladesh-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry" (BGCCI) is the largest bilateral chamber in Bangladesh with around 600 member companies and represents the interests of German investors in Bangladesh.

A bilateral investment protection and promotion agreement has been in force since September 1986, a double taxation agreement since 1993.

The share of foreign direct investment is below 1% of Bangladesh's GDP , although the country offers very liberal laws for investors. The Bangladeshi Institution for the Promotion of Investment (BOC) plans to increase the proportion of foreign direct investment. We are looking for investors in the fields of agriculture , textile industry and shipbuilding .

Development cooperation

A major aspect of the Bangladeshi-German relations is development cooperation .

In total, Germany provided around 2.6 billion euros in payments by 2014. There is also support from non-governmental organizations and multilateral organizations such as B. the World Bank , in which Germany participates.

Focus of cooperation

The long-term priorities of this cooperation are:

Energy efficiency and renewable energies
The problematic infrastructure of Bangladesh represents a major challenge for industry and the population. Rural regions in particular do not have extensive access to the power grid. In order to ensure a sustainable supply of demand, the German Society for International Cooperation advised numerous Bangladeshi institutions in its program for “Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency” and helped establish the authority for the sustainable development of the energy sector.
Governance, rule of law and human rights
Especially since the devastating building collapse in Sabhar on April 24, 2013, the precarious working conditions in the textile industry have been a main topic of development work and so the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development has commissioned a program to improve labor and social standards in the textile and clothing sector .
Flood in Dhaka
Adaptation to Climate Change
The particular geographical location of Bangladesh makes the country very vulnerable to natural disasters, especially hurricanes like the devastating Bangladesh cyclone of 1991 . A main problem is also flooding , which will become more numerous in the future due to climate change . Since, among other things, they inhibit economic development, the German Society for International Cooperation helped small and medium-sized companies with their adaptation to climate change and the associated tasks in their project: “Strengthening the capacity of the private sector to adapt to climate change” .

criticism

Development cooperation has been the focus of controversial discussions on several occasions. Above all, the lack of well-founded scientific preliminary examination of the effectiveness of the intended aid measures is criticized. Such an approach would produce fairer and more effective results than widespread action at will.

The main criticism of German development work in Bangladesh is the concentration of funding on irrelevant problems in Bangladeshi society. Various prestige projects were financed with development funds, which primarily benefit the affluent part of the population (e.g. a new airport), although a large part of the Bangladeshi population does not even have access to sanitary facilities. Investments do not serve their purpose and only benefit a small part of the Bangladeshi population. The support through monetary means favored the development of large-scale projects and export-oriented companies, although the Bangladeshi economy needed more essential projects (e.g. infrastructure ). The direct impact of development work on poverty is also questionable. Despite high investments, the number of undernourished families rose from 62% to 80% of the population between 1975 and 1984.

Cultural exchange and cultural relations

There has been a Goethe-Institut in Dhaka since 1961 , which is dedicated to teaching the German language and culture . The Goethe-Institut in Dhaka is the venue for numerous cultural events and the center of German education in Bangladesh. With the initiative “Schools: Partners for the Future”, the institute, in cooperation with the German Academic Exchange Service, supports five schools in Bangladesh in the intercultural education of children and will be able to offer German lessons in almost all participating schools.

The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), in cooperation with the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, awards scholarships to Bangladeshi students every year. You can get student advice on this at the Goethe-Institut . As a result, a large number of Bangladeshi academics have already completed part of their studies in Germany. Over 200 of them are already members of German alumni associations .

further reading

On the policy of the Foreign Office

  • Hans-Peter Schwarz: "Files on the Foreign Policy of the Federal Republic of Germany" , R. Oldenbourg Verlag, Munich: 2003, ISBN 3-486-56640-7

To development aid

  • Brigitte Erler : "Deadly Help: Report from my last business trip in matters of development aid" , Dreisam-Verlag, Freiburg im Breisgau: 1985, ISBN 3-89125-218-8
  • Brigitte Jessen: "Poverty-oriented development aid in Bangladesh: Help or obstacle for development?" , Publishing House for Scientific Education, Berlin: 1990, ISBN 3-927408-38-7
  • Brigitte Jessen / Michael Nebelung: “Help does not have to be fatal” , Express Edition, Berlin: 1987, ISBN 3-88548-767-5
  • Fatema Parveen: " Official development aid of the Federal Republic of Germany to the People's Republic of Bangladesh in the 1970s and 1980s - using the example of technical cooperation" , inaugural dissertation for obtaining a doctorate, presented to the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität zu Bonn, Bonn: 1999

Web links

Wikisource: Announcement of the German-Bangladeshi agreement on the posting of a German hockey expert  - sources and full texts

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ http://www.bangladeshembassy.de/
  2. ↑ - ( Memento of the original from January 27, 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. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.dhaka.diplo.de
  3. ↑ Fatema Parveen: "The official development aid of the Federal Republic of Germany to the People's Republic of Bangladesh in the seventies and eighties - using the example of technical cooperation" , pages: 107-109, Inaugural dissertation for obtaining a doctorate, submitted to the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Bonn: 1999
  4. ↑ Textile alliance has an impact - Federal Minister Gerd Müller visits Bangladesh Website of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, accessed on January 27, 2016.
  5. ↑ Henrike Rossbach: "The Development Minister's New Clothes" FAZ.net. Retrieved January 27, 2016.
  6. ↑ World Bank - Overview on Bangladesh (English). World Bank website. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
  7. ↑ a b c d Relations between Bangladesh and Germany Website of the Federal Foreign Office. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
  8. ↑ German-Bangladeshi Chamber of Commerce - Foreign direct investment (English). Magazine on Investing in Bangladesh. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
  9. ↑ Description of the project: "Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency". ( Memento of the original from January 27, 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. GIZ website. Retrieved January 26, 2016. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / giz.de
  10. ↑ Description of the project: “Labor and social standards in the textile and clothing sector in Asia” . GIZ website. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
  11. ↑ Description of the project: “Strengthening the private sector's capacity to adapt to climate change” GIZ website. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
  12. ↑ Manfred Dworschak: "Helpers in the acid test" . In: Der Spiegel . No. 42 , 2011, p. 138-142 ( online - 17 October 2011 ).
  13. ↑ a b Brigitte Jessen / Michael Nebelung: “Help does not have to be fatal” , pages 16–17, Express Edition, Berlin: 1987, ISBN 3-88548-767-5
  14. ^ Initiative "Schools: Partners for the Future" of the Goethe Institute
  15. ^ Work of the Goethe Institute in Bangladesh Website of the Goethe Institute. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
  16. ↑ - ( Memento of the original from January 27, 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. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.dhaka.diplo.de