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German Development Policy

The development policy of the Federal Republic of Germany is an independent area of German foreign policy. It is formulated by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and carried out by the implementing organizations.

The German government sees development policy as a joint responsibility of the international community, with Germany making effective and high-profile contributions. Through a clear international division of labour and sound consultation and coordination with other donors, the German government aims to enhance the effectiveness of German development policy in line with the tenets of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness.

The Federal Republic of Germany has undertaken to play an active part in helping to achieve the goals laid out in the Millennium Declaration, the Monterrey Consensus and the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation. The inter-ministerial "Programm of Action 2015" is the central instrument used by the German government to translate this commitment into practice. The program was adopted by the German cabinet only a few months after the Millennium Summit and has since been fine-tuned and rendered more specific on an ongoing basis.

The "Program of Action" provides a political framework and points the way forward for German development policy. In it, the German government lays out the form its contribution should take within the overarching international framework for action, and how this is to be further developed. It gears its action to the imperatives of the vision of global sustainable development and the following four objectives:

	Reducing poverty worldwide
	Building peace and bringing about democracy
	Promoting equitable forms of globalisation
	Protecting the natural environment.

In each of these fields, the German government aims to promote development that corresponds to the principles of sustainability. This is only possible if development cooperation is based on a holistic approach: it must be ascertained that all development interventions have a positive impact on social, economic, ecological and political development.

The "Program of Action 2015" lays out the framework within which Germany makes its contribution to achieving the goals of the Millennium Declaration and the Millennium Development Goals derived from it. The ten priority areas for action embrace the economy and agriculture, commerce, indebtedness, social systems, environmental protection and conservation of natural resources, human rights, gender equality, participation, disarmament, and security.

For further information see the Website of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development:www.bmz.de