Policy Updates

On August 14, 2023, German Development Minister Svenja Schulze traveled to Mauritania and Nigeria in her first visit to the region since assuming the Sahel Alliance presidency in July 2023.

Schulze will meet with high-level government representatives in Mauritania to discuss their priorities of the Mauritanian G5 Sahel Presidency and support for Sahel Alliance initiatives. Job creation for young people, social security, and food and water security are priorities of Schulze's Sahel Alliance Presidency and of German bilateral cooperation with countries in the Sahel region. Schulze highlighted that economic development and prosperity will help create societal stability and prevent the rise of terrorist groups.

In Nigeria, Schulze will meet with representatives of ECOWAS to discuss how Germany can support ECOWAS' efforts to engineer a peaceful solution to the crisis in neighboring Niger following a military coup in the week of July 24, 2023.

On July 25, 2023, at the UN Conference on Global Food Systems in Rome, Italy, BMZ State Secretary Jochen Flasbarth called for advancements in climate-adapted local agriculture to reduce reliance on volatile world food markets and counter Russia's use of wheat blockades as a weapon in the war against Ukraine.

Flasbarth emphasized the importance of achieving lasting structural changes. He called for the end of slow, reactionary crisis solutions and urged policymakers to reduce dependencies on global wheat and fertilizer markets and promote local, climate-adapted farming in partner countries. The conference intended to reduce the impact of future food crises by tackling intersectional issues such as hunger, inequality, climate change, and biodiversity loss.

Flasbarth announced a collaboration with the WFP on a five-year program worth EUR22 million (US$25 million) for sustainable and inclusive school feeding. The BMZ announced an additional EUR5 million (US$6 million) in 2023 to the newly established financing window for the transformation of food systems under the UN Joint SDG Fund.

The 2023 summit was billed as a "Stocktaking Moment" following the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit, which called for collective action to achieve all 17 SDGs through the transformation of food systems. The 2023 summit provided member states and stakeholders the opportunity to report on their activities and identify new solutions to further the transformation of agricultural and food systems.

On July 10, 2023, German development minister Svenja Schulze took over the Presidency of the Sahel Alliance from Spain.

Schulze outlined three priorities for her presidency:

1. Creating paths out of the crisis by offering more education, training, and employment;
2. Making societies more resilient through social protection and long-term solutions for food security that go beyond emergency relief; and
3. Recovering areas that the government has lost control over and providing people with basic services.
   
   Schulze emphasized the empowerment of girls and women, who are often main income-earners and can significantly impact regional development.
   
   With over EUR28 billion (US$31 billion) in support for initiatives, the Sahel Alliance is the region's biggest alliance of international supporters.

On June 28, 2023 the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture and the BMZ announced Germany's accession to the Agroecology Coalition, a global coalition for food systems transformation through agroecology.

The Agroecology Coalition was founded to support the sector's transition to sustainable farming methods through policy, knowledge exchange, and the provision of financial resources on a global scale. Germany's accession to the Agroecology Coalition reflected the government's increasing focus on national and international issues of agroecology across different government departments and incorporate them into agricultural policy.

On June 12, 2023, the BMZ announced it will phase out and not renew funding for projects under the AGRA program.

AGRA is an initiative by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation that aims to increase food production in Africa. In 2023, several NGOs criticized AGRA for not lifting smallholder farmers out of poverty but on the contrary making them more dependent on fertilizer, pesticides, and seed imports from chemical companies including Bayer and Syngenta. Further, certain agricultural poisons, that are banned in the EU, were used in projects.

AGRA was funded through the KfW with EUR10 million (US$11 million) initially and EUR15 million (US$16 million) in a second project phase.

On May 31, 2023, representatives of the Cameroon government and the BMZ discussed cooperation in the area of forest protection.

At the meeting, BMZ officials announced that Germany will provide EUR20 million (US$21 million) for Cameroon to support rainforest protection in the Congo Basin. The BMZ aimed to develop and implement business models that exclude deforestation and at the same time create new income opportunities.

On May 24, 2023, Civil Society 7 released its review of the May 2023 G7 Hiroshima Summit.

The report looked at six topics, including the nuclear disarmament, climate and environmental justice, the transition to a fair economy, global health, humanitarian aid and conflict, and a resilient and open society, and presented the following findings:

• Nuclear Disarmament: The G7 summit did not focus on nuclear disarmament, and its leaders did not show any commitment to starting time-bound negotiations. While condemning Russia’s nuclear threats, they justified their own nuclear weapons as being for defense and deterrence;
• Climate and Environmental Justice: The G7 summit acknowledged the need to strengthen adaptation measures, enhance resilience support for vulnerable groups, and increase support to the most vulnerable countries for avoiding, minimizing, and addressing losses and damages. It emphasized the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, including non-CO2 gases, and reaffirmed commitment to global methane reduction efforts. However, the report argued that the G7’s approach to climate change, in particular its descriptions of fossil fuels, is far from ideal;
• Transition to a Fair Economy: The G7 summit prioritized “economic security” from its perspective rather than focusing on resolving challenges faced by partner countries. It aimed to decouple supply chains from China, but such decoupling could impose additional burdens on developing countries. The summit lacked strong commitments regarding debt restructuring, international negotiations, and debt cancellation. It also weakened the organization's stance on business and human rights;
• Global Health: The G7 summit fell short of expectations due to time constraints and limitations imposed by Japan. It failed to address intellectual property rights as a key factor in addressing the pandemic and ensuring equitable access to therapeutics. The summit lacked specific commitments, and its focus was more on ordering and reaffirming previous pledges rather than providing the required funding and technological contributions;
• Humanitarian Aid and Conflict: The G7 summit's commitment of US$21 billion in support, with particular focus on addressing food crises and prioritizing education, was welcomed. However, apart from this financial commitment, the summit lacked clear and concrete commitments. It failed to mention the importance of strengthening local leadership and access to humanitarian aid and protection; and
• Resilient and Open Society: The G7 summit did not address the concept of an open society or democracy in its statements. It neglected to discuss civic space and shrinking civil society, and its focus on democracy mainly revolved around countering information warfare. The summit did not address issues like digital space safety, fake news, freedom of expression, or topics covered in previous G7 meetings. The treatment of non-regular immigrants and their dire situations was a significant problem. The summit lacked references to freedom of expression and did not improve citizen participation or support for civil society organizations.

C7 aims to achieve a society envisioned by the SDGs that leaves no one behind, and its criticism of the G7 Hiroshima Summit was presented as a means of holding leaders to account for their role in building a better world.

The leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) assembled in Hiroshima from May 19-21, 2023 to discuss a wide range of global issues requiring immediate and long-term attention.

On May 20, 2023, the leaders released a communiqué outlining their commitments to the international community. Among other issues, the communiqué focused on infrastructure, humanitarian crises, climate change, global health, and gender.

Key commitments included:

• Mobilizing up to US$600 billion by 2027 for the G7 Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment, also known as PGII;
• Investing US$21 billion to address worsening humanitarian crises including the global food crises;
• Pledges to mobilize US$100 billion in climate financing annually from 2020 to 2025 for mitigation actions and transparency on implementation;
• Coordinating efforts to enhance governance for health emergencies, promote sustainable health financing, launch the Pandemic Fund, and support LICs and MICs in implementing health regulations; and
• Strengthening gender equality and the rights of women, girls, and LGBTQ+ people through effective, multi-sectorial policies.

The G7 Hiroshima Summit 2023 was held during a tense period for both Europe and Asia. The leaders took a strong stance against further aggression and reconfirmed their commitment to promoting sustainable ODA and international collaboration.

On May 20, 2023, the G7 pledged to provide an additional US$4.5 billion for food security.

The pledgfe was made to continue the fight against the global food crisis under the Global Alliance for Food Security, which Germany initiated in 2022 under its G7 presidency. As of December 2022, US$4.9 billion had been provided provided for food security through the initiative, suprassing initial goals of US$4.5 billion.

During the summit, the heads of states also indicated their intention to further increase their efforts for global food security in their joint declaration G7 Hiroshima Action Statement for Resilient Global Food Security.

The announcedment was made during the G7 summit in Hiroshima on May 19-21, 2023 the G7 heads of state discussed a range of topics, including the war in Ukraine, global economic relations, foreign and security policy, food security, and climate protection. German Chancellor Scholz highlighted the importance of conversation with LIC and MIC partner countries and welcomed their attendance during the second day of the summit.

On April 24, 2023, the European Commission announced EUR70 million (US$77 million) for two Global Gateway initiatives in Togo.

Broadly, the funding aims to support Togo's 2025 development plan, in cooperation with France, Germany, and the EIB. In particular, the funding was announced in relation to two agreements signed by European Commissioner for International Partnerships Jutta Urpilainen and Prime Minister of Togo Victoire Tomegah Dogbé on agriculture and electrification.

EUR30 million (US$33 million) was allocated to an agreement on developing agriculture and natural resources. Programming under this agreement adopted a holistic approach to strengthening agricultural value chains through WEE and leveraging sustainable innovations, such as solar-powered irrigation.

The second agreement received EUR40 million (US$44 million), and focused on energey and connectivity. The partnership prioritized Togo's goal of achieving 100% electrification, while sourcing 50% of energy from renewable sources.