Bangladesh, Germany ink €43m deals for dev projects

Bangladesh has signed two agreements with Germany where the latter will provide €43 million in grants for implementing development projects involving renewable energy and climate change adaptation.

Under the Financial Cooperation (FC) 2021 agreement, Bangladesh will receive €10 million for the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (phase 3) project in the government-to-government (g2g) modality and €33 million for the Climate Change Adapted Urban Development Programme (phase 2) in Khulna.

Sharifa Khan, secretary of the Economic Relations Division (ERD) at the Ministry of Finance, signed the agreements on behalf of the Bangladesh government on Wednesday, reads a press release.

German Ambassador to Bangladesh Achim Tröster and Stefan Echner, country manager of the German Development Bank KfW, signed the agreements on behalf of their government.

Sharifa Khan, secretary of the Economic Relations Division at the Ministry of Finance, said, "The best prevention of the devastating consequences of climate change is the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. I would like to highlight that Germany welcomes Bangladesh's decision to give up plans to construct new coal-fired power plants and explore the possibilities of alternative sources for energy generation."

The negotiations took place in a friendly atmosphere of constructive cooperation. Both parties discussed issues of development cooperation including climate change and energy, training and skills development, biodiversity, human rights and good governance.

The signing ceremony was attended by high officials from the German Embassy in Dhaka, the German Development Bank KfW and the German technical cooperation agencies GIZ and BGR, as well as from the government of Bangladesh.

The Climate Change Adapted Urban Development Programme (phase 2), being executed by Khulna City Corporation (LGED), primarily aims to improve the living conditions of climate change and flood-affected urban populations in Khulna, a coastal city of Bangladesh.

This programme is expected to enhance the resilience of the target group against the adverse impacts of climate change by establishing a comprehensive drainage network, canal revitalisation, and flood-resilient infrastructure along with other ground needs.