The agreements were signed by Mohammad Shahriar Kader Siddiky, secretary of the economic relations division (ERD) under the finance ministry, and Andreas Kuck, country director of German development agency GIZ in Bangladesh, in Dhaka, a ministry press release said.
Germany and Bangladesh have signed three technical cooperation pacts worth $14.86 million that focus on sustainability in the latter’s textile sector, localising national climate adaptation targets and transitioning to sustainable e-mobility.
The first $75.3-million project, titled STILE-II, is aimed at supporting the public and private sectors to modernise Bangladesh’s textile and RMG sectors.
The first project, titled ‘Programme for Sustainability in the Textile Sector II (STILE-II)’, has a sanctioned fund of €73 million ($75.3 million), and is aimed at supporting the public and private sectors to modernise Bangladesh’s textile and readymade garment industries.
The initiative aims to align the sector with European Union (EU) sustainability standards, with the Bangladesh ministry of commerce serving as the sponsoring ministry, a GTZ factsheet said.
The STILE-II project’s areas of intervention and envisaged activities include policy-level awareness and support of trade and environmental readiness; export promotion and environmental protection; qualifying producing companies for export and climate targets; and community-based workers support with focus on gender equality.
The second project, titled ‘Support for the Localisation of National Climate Adaptation Targets (LOCAT)’, has a fund of €30 million, and aims at enhancing the institutional capacity of local governments in implementing city climate action plans aligned with Bangladesh’s National Adaptation Plan.
The third, titled ‘Transition to Sustainable E-Mobility (Trans2SMo)’, with a fund of €41.5 million, aims at promoting sustainable electric mobility.
It focuses on collaboration among policymakers, businesses, and academic institutions, with the [ower division of the Ministry of power, energy and mineral resources serving as the sponsoring ministry.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
