India and Germany’s trilateral partnership for developing countries is set to expand into the African states of Ethiopia and Madagascar, said Chaman Dhanda, India Head for Trilateral Cooperation at GIZ, Germany’s official technical assistance agency.
New Delhi and Berlin have thus far worked together to develop projects in Peru, Ghana, Cameroon and Malawi.The existing projects range from promoting agri-business among women in Malawi to potato production in Cameroon through agri-tech.
The objective would be to build on individual strengths and experiences in development cooperation and offer sustainable, viable and inclusive projects to third countries in addressing development challenges and achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and SDG-related climate targets, including through multilateral institutions where India and Germany are members, such as the International Solar Alliance (ISA),” the two sides said in a joint declaration of intent released in May 2022.
The two sides are also considering expanding their collaboration into Madagascar and Ethiopia.While the India-Germany cooperation in these countries has been focused on climate and sustainability, Germany is interested in expanding the programme to include healthcare projects and sponsoring health-related research and development in Africa, said Jochen Flasbarth, state secretary in Germany’s federal ministry for economic cooperation and development, in a press interaction in New DelhiIn addition, the two countries are also open to considering projects in Asia, given that the focus this far has been on Africa and Latin America.
India also undertaken a number of trilateral cooperation partnerships with countries like the United States and France, as it looks to leverage the technical capabilities and financial resources of trusted partners in strategically important regions. For example, it was earlier reported that India is considering cooperation with America, Australia and France in the Pacific Islands.
India is exploring a similar proposal with the United Kingdom under the Global Innovation Partnership to harness innovation in India to deliver development in strategic third countries. Mint reported that a list of target countries under this programme will be finalized by early next year and possible cooperation on renewable power projects in Sri Lanka are being discussed as part of this.
While trilateral cooperation has been pushed through with considerable backing from India and its chosen partners, they are also understood to come with coordination challenges. While India is willing to work with a number of developed country partners to shore up its strategic position in its neighbourhood, it retains a preference for bilateral development projects that can be implemented quickly with few bureaucratic delays.
