5 May 2020 12:00 am
Sri Lanka stands to lose German development cooperation as Germany moves ahead with plans to realign its resources to a limited number of countries with good record in implementing reforms and where the commitment made a difference, several German online news platforms reported.
Economic Cooperation and Development Federal Minister Gerd Müller revealed that Germany would be cutting direct government aid to Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Mongolia, as part of the realignment of development aid, under Germany’s new development strategy dubbed ‘BMZ 2030’.
“We are demanding even more measurable progress from our partner countries than before in good governance, respect for human rights and fight against corruption,” said Müller.
Further, he had pointed out that countries such as Sri Lanka or Mongolia would no longer need to be subsidised, considering their level of development.
“Fortunately, some countries have developed in such a way that they no longer need our direct support, for example Sri Lanka or Mongolia,” said Müller.
Instead, the minister stressed that the German government is keen to promote countries with genuine will to reform, respect for human rights and a credible fight against corruption even more within the framework of reform partnerships.
“So far this has been Ghana, Ethiopia, Tunisia, Morocco, Ivory Coast and Senegal,” said Müller.
The new development aid strategy is expected to be presented in Berlin within the week.
However, Müller noted that the end of cooperation in certain countries wouldn’t mean the end of all activities.
“Civil society, political foundations, churches and business can continue to work there in terms of development policy,” he added.
Germany remains one of the largest development aid donors to Sri Lanka, which extends across a broad range of sectors and topics such as sustainable energy development, SME development, vocational training as well as supporting the reconciliation process in the country.