International cooperation promotes security – for Germany too

Kramp-Karrenbauer and Schäfer-Gümbel stress the importance of partnerships with the Global South.

Eschborn, 17 March 2025. The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH believes in the importance of strong partnerships, as Thorsten Schäfer-Gümbel, Chair of the Management Board, emphasised today in front of staff in Eschborn. He did so during an in-depth exchange with Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, Chair of the commission ‘A Changing World – Germany and the Global South’, set up by Global Perspectives Initiative in mid-2024. At the meeting in Eschborn, the two discussed the importance and future focus of international cooperation in an age marked by numerous crises, with both of them agreeing that today’s world needs more international cooperation and not less.

Kramp-Karrenbauer, a former German defence minister, argued that foreign policy and strong business relations were crucial for national well-being in times of global upheaval. She explained that Germany had legitimate interests of its own that needed to be clearly stated and pursued. Kramp-Karrenbauer: ‘This interests-based approach should also point the way for cooperation with countries of the Global South, in which both sides negotiate their own interests in a way that ideally results in win-win situations.’

‘Important impetus in a time of decision-making’

Schäfer-Gümbel, Chair of the GIZ Management Board, echoed Kramp-Karrenbauer’s sentiments: ‘International cooperation promotes security for Germany too,’ adding that GIZ had an impact at local level on every individual that it supported. He said that the company operated in around 120 countries, creating prospects and more stable conditions there, and that the results that GIZ achieved around the world had an impact in the medium to long term in Germany too. Schäfer-Gümbel explained that this required active, strategic partnerships, such as those maintained by GIZ: ‘These partnerships need to be further developed in future to make international cooperation successful. The report by Global Perspectives on realigning Germany’s relations with the countries of the Global South provides important impetus in a time of decision-making with a view to building security capacity. Our thanks for this go to Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer and the entire Commission.’

About GIZ

The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH is a federal enterprise with worldwide operations. It supports the German Government in the field of international cooperation for sustainable development. It is also engaged in education activities around the globe. GIZ assists people and societies in shaping their own future and improving their living conditions.

About Global Perspectives Initiative

In a globalised world, Europe needs Africa. Global Perspectives Initiative connects the key figures in business, politics, the research community, media and civil society to shape a sustainable common future. As an independent and politically neutral dialogue platform, Global Perspectives thus guides the European-African dialogue and promotes multilateral cooperation on the two continents.

www.globalperspectives.org