Thorsten Schäfer-Gümbel : "GIZ, fully committed to a sustainable future"

025 is a crucial year for the international cooperation of Germany and Europe. We see the consequences as leading nations re-consider their international commitments and contributions, particularly the dismantling of USAID. In these turbulent times, GIZ remains dedicated to shaping a future worth living world-wide. As a service provider, we are continuously adapting to changing framework conditions, interests and demands - of our implementation partners as well as of our commissioning parties - in particular the German federal government and the European Commission. It is our ambition to offer sustainable and integrated solutions to some of the most pressing needs of our time: the promotion of stability and development in conflicts and fragile contexts, climate change mitigation and adaptation and the fight against communicable diseases among others. Our ability to make a difference depends crucially on working in alliances and partnerships with a wide variety of actors. Combining resources within the Team Europe approach and working with agencies and knowledge partners from the global South are a good example for this. At GIZ, we continuously develop our products and services, enhance our business model and strengthen our digital capacities in order to provide sustainable answers to the challenges of 2025 and the years to come. This includes improving framework conditions for private sector engagement and investments.

GIZ and Expertise France are two leading agencies for international cooperation in Europe. For many years and in a European spirit, we have worked successfully together in the Practitioners’ Network for European Development Cooperation on topics such as the integration of financial and technical cooperation, the question of how to make European cooperation formats more effective, but also on promoting the European Green Deal and gender equality. Expertise France and GIZ are jointly involved in numerous Team Europe Initiatives such as “Manufacturing and Access to Vaccines, Medicines and Health Technologies” (MAV+) where we cooperate with several African partner countries in the health sector or the “Digital for Development Hub” (D4D Hub), fostering the digital transition. In July last year, Expertise France and GIZ have signed an agreement to further extend and intensify the fruitful exchange and cooperation at several levels. For example, regular exchange at the management level as well as a systematic exploration of cooperation potential in specific sectors or regions. It involves also addressing cooperation challenges if and when we see them. We are convinced that GIZ and Expertise France jointly and in cooperation with other European agencies can create real and lasting value added for our partner countries. With our strong and trustful partnership, we can demonstrate that Europe has the capacity to accept responsibility and to take action.

GIZ has contributed to the success of Team Europe from the beginning. Today, we are involved in a wide range of Team Europe Initiatives across different regions, countries and topics. Germany is a member of 133 initiatives, 113 of which directly support Global Gateway. GIZ plays an active role in 96 of these, primarily as an implementing partner. In some cases, we contribute to steering Team Europe Initiatives alongside the EU and other organisations, often Expertise France and AFD. This collaboration ensures strong internal coordination, effective dialogue with partner countries, and joint reporting and communication.

A good example for GIZ’s contribution to Team Europe is the “Euroclima” programme, a longstanding initiative supporting climate action and environmental governance in Latin America and the Caribbean. Euroclima brings together the EU, Germany, France, including AFD and Expertise France, as well as GIZ and other key European implementing partners. The initiative promotes policy dialogue, funds climate adaptation pilot projects, and strengthens environmental governance through cross-country knowledge exchange. We are pleased to contribute with GIZ’s strong implementation capacity and long-standing cooperation experience with partners in the countries involved. With its inclusion in the Team Europe Initiative "Latin America and Caribbean – Green Transition" and its alignment with Global Gateway, Euroclima exemplifies how joint European action can drive long-term sustainable change. GIZ remains committed to Team Europe and its strong partnerships with European Member State organisations, such as Expertise France. It has been proven time and time again: we are stronger together!