Deepening the dialogue and partnership in challenging times Minister Schulze (BMZ) and Vice-Chairman Bery (NITI Aayog) hold the inaugural “NITI – BMZ Dialogue on Development Cooperation”
Minister Schulze (BMZ) and Vice-Chairman Bery (NITI Aayog) during the inaugural “NITI – BMZ Dialogue on Development Cooperation”
Copyright© Xander Heinl/photothek.net
Press release 5 September 2022 | Berlin – Germany and India look back on more than 60 years of Development Cooperation and over 20 years of Strategic Partnership. On 2 May 2022, both governments signed a Joint Declaration of Intent on the Partnership for Green and Sustainable Development (GSDP). During the last G7 summit in Schloss Elmau in June 2022, the G7 and India agreed to work towards a Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP).
Taking forward the Green and Sustainable Development Partnership (GSDP) between India and Germany, Minister Svenja Schulze (BMZ) of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and Suman Bery, Vice-Chairman National Institution for Transforming India, NITI Aayog, India´s leading public think tank, held the Inaugural “NITI – BMZ Dialogue on Development Cooperation” on 5 September 2022 (in virtual mode) and through this laid down a pathway to strengthen their mutual cooperation – in particular to reconcile the imperatives of dealing with climate change with the goals of the 2030 Agenda. In support of a Green and Sustainable Development Partnership, Minister Schulze today announced additional funding of 3.5 million euros for specific strengthening of SDG implementation and climate action at the level of Indian States.
The NITI-BMZ Dialogue focused on five core areas of cooperation, primarily bilateral, but also as appropriate trilateral and multilateral, namely, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), climate action, energy transition, emerging technologies and agro-ecology. The discussions were held with an objective to deliberate on on-going engagements, and identifying potential cooperation in areas that can produce tangible outputs and learnings for both sides. India’s forthcoming G20 Presidency is of particular relevance in this regard. Mr. Bery drew attention to Prime Minister Modi’s focus on individual responsibility for sustainable behaviour, embodied in his Lifestyle for Environment (LiFE) initiative.
Minister Svenja Schulze: “India is a global partner for Germany, the EU and the G7. We are very serious about a real long-term cooperation with India to achieve the Paris climate goals, the Sustainable Development Goals and in particular a just energy transition in India. An important basis for the long-term Green and Sustainable Development Partnership is to discuss and agree on transformational concepts and policies, be it in the energy transition, sustainable mobility, climate resilience or the agro-ecological transformation. This is why I held a dialogue with Shri Suman Bery and his team today. We are very much looking forward to the Indian G20 Presidency in 2023 and are ready to support India for a strong agenda on climate action and sustainable development.”
Vice-Chairman Shri Suman Bery: “Germany is one of India’s most important partners. Indo-German partnership is as an example of success in a complex world. NITI-BMZ Dialogue in Development Cooperation will help our two nations realise our potential in embedding climate action in the Sustainable Development Goals, energy, emerging technologies and agro-ecology.”
NITI and BMZ reiterated their commitment on collaborating towards strengthening SDG localization at the city level and scaling-up SDG implementation in the context of climate change also at state level with capacity building and incentive systems for implementation.
During the discussion, both sides highlighted the need to deepen engagement on the Lighthouse Cooperation on Agroecology and Natural Resources and to collaborate on (i) scaling up natural farming in India (ii) strengthening research in different agro-climatic regions for natural farming practices, (iii) working towards standards and certification of natural farming products for facilitating export and (iv) evaluating impact of natural farming for mitigating climate change and adapting to climate risks.