News

Today in Washington D.C. the first World Bank meeting since US President Donald Trump began his second term in office will draw to a close. Germany was represented at the spring meeting by Development Minister Svenja Schulze as Germany’s World Bank Governor and by the Parliamentary State Secretary to the Minister Niels Annen. At the meeting it became clear that the Bank is well-equipped for the future (...)

The third Global Disability Summit, which is taking place in Berlin, will conclude today with concrete outcomes for better inclusion worldwide. The global population includes around 1.3 billion persons with disabilities – 15 per cent of all the people in the world. Now, promoting inclusion is also to be an objective in at least 15 per cent of development projects. That is the intention at the heart of the Amman-Berlin Declaration adopted by more than 80 countries and organisations at the Summit today.

More than 3000 people from some 100 countries, many of them with a disability, are meeting in Berlin for the third Global Disability Summit starting today. The goal is to advance accessibility and inclusion worldwide. The summit is being co-hosted by Germany, represented by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the International Disability Alliance.

Development Minister Svenja Schulze: “The Syrian transitional government has taken a lot of steps in the right direction, but the situation in the country is still very fragile. A key thing for making the transition process a success now is to quickly organise improvements for the population. Together with other donors, Germany has stated clearly that the support for Syria is linked to the expectation that the new Syria involves all social and religious groups in the country. (...)”

Parliamentary State Secretary at the Development Ministry (BMZ) Niels Annen travelled to Syria on Monday for political talks and held further discussions in Lebanon today. The focus of the visit was the transition process and recovery in Syria, as well as the reform agenda and challenges facing crisis-torn Lebanon.

“We find this move regrettable. At the same time, we are convinced that the work of the Just Energy Transition Partnerships (JETPs) can be continued successfully. The decision to share responsibility between so many partners is now turning out to be very helpful. Since their establishment, the Partnerships have grown. In the case of South Africa, the JETP has reached a higher volume, even without the US, than had been agreed at the outset in 2021. (...)”