Germany will provide 208 million Euro in assistance to Bangladesh for combating the adverse impacts of climate change, develop energy efficiency and strengthen governance.
The newly appointed German Ambassador to Bangladesh, Dr Thomas Heinrich Prinz, said this while paying a courtesy call on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her office on Wednesday, reports UNB.
PM’s Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim briefed reporters after the meeting.
He said Germany would continue its partnership in Bangladesh’s development efforts, saying it has made tremendous success in socioeconomic development.
“Bangladesh is on the right track,” he said.
Referring to Bangladesh’s progress in the IT sector, the German envoy expressed his high hope to bring some investment from his country to this sector.
He said some 1,500 Bangladeshi students are now getting German visas on average every year for higher study and this time it might be increased.
Mentioning that Bangladesh’s potentials in bio-gas, Dr Thomas Heinrich Prinz said 26% of the total energy consumption of his country comes from renewable energy. “We want to increase it to 50 percent,” he said.
The German ambassador said Father of the Nation Bangabandhu was a great orator and the people of Germany hold him in high esteem. He mentioned that he recently visited the Bangabandhu museum and he said: “History speaks.”
Referring to his visit to the burn unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital after the countrywide violence and petrol bomb attacks by the BNP-Jamaat alliance, he said he witnessed the unbearable sufferings of burn victims.
He said Germany would help Bangladesh set up a separate burn institute in the country.
Welcoming the new German ambassador to Bangladesh, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said she appreciates the sustained commitment of Germany to Bangladesh through development cooperation since its birth.
She said Bangladesh is a very lucrative destination for investment and sought more investment in the country as it has a very liberal investment policy.
Mentioning Bangladesh’s growing shipbuilding industry in Bangladesh, the Prime Minister said there is scope of cooperation in this sector.
Talking about the establishment of a separate burn institute in the country, Sheikh Hasina said her government has already taken a decision in this regard.
She recalled that Germany was one of the first European countries which recognised Bangladesh right after its independence.
The Prime Minister also invited German Chancellor Angela Merkel through the Ambassador to visit Bangladesh at her convenient time.