Overview of Bilateral Cooperation
Indo-German development cooperation is well integrated in the foreign policy framework of relations between India and Germany. Both countries are equally committed to achieving the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs); further, they want to tackle global challenges in the fields of climate and environment. India is viewed by Germany as an 'Anchor Country', which means that our cooperation is based on the sharing of know-how.
Background
The year 2008 marked 50 years of Indo-German development cooperation. Begun in the 1950s, development cooperation with India grew so rapidly that in a short time it became the largest recipient of German development assistance.
The construction of the Rourkela Steel Plant in Orissa was a hallmark of this intensive cooperation in the early 1960s. Later, both countries set up one of India's premiere educational institutions - the Indian Institute of Technology in Madras. In the 1990’s, development cooperation dealt with the issues of poverty reduction and social infrastructure.
Programme focus
Today, the Indo-German development cooperation programme focuses on the following mutually agreed priority areas:
- Energy
- Environment, Protection of Natural Resources
- Sustainable Economic Development
The proposals for implementation of development cooperation projects are forwarded to the German Government, through the German Embassy, by the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) of the Indian Ministry of Finance. The DEA is the central coordinating authority of the Indian Government responsible for development cooperation.
The cooperation projects are carried out on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), with the concurrence of the German Foreign Office (AA), by Germany's International Cooperation Agency GIZ and the KfW German Development Bank. GIZ is charged with implementation of technical cooperation and KfW with implementation of financial cooperation projects respectively.
