NITI Aayog & BMZ Holds NITI-BMZ Dialogue on Development Cooperation

The first NITI-BMZ Dialogue of Development Cooperation was held via video conferencing between NITI Aayog and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). India and Germany signed a Joint Declaration of Intent on Partnership for Green and Sustainable Development (GSDP) on May 2, 2022.

India and G7 agreed to work toward a Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) at the last G7 summit in Schloss Elmau in June 2022. The Dialogue paved the way for the two countries to strengthen their mutual cooperation, particularly in reconciling the imperatives of dealing with climate change with the goals of Agenda 2030.

The NITI-BMZ Dialogue focused on five key areas of cooperation: SDGs, climate action, energy transition, emerging technologies, and agroecology. Both sides discussed ongoing engagements and identified potential areas for collaboration that can result in tangible outputs and learnings for India and Germany.

In this regard, India's upcoming G20 presidency is particularly important. Suman Bery, Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog, highlighted the Prime Minister's emphasis on individual responsibility for sustainable behaviour, as embodied in his Lifestyle for Environment (LiFE) initiative. In support of a green and sustainable development partnership, German Federal Minister Schulze announced today an additional EUR 3.5 million in funding, specifically for strengthening SDG implementation and climate action at the state level in India.

"Germany is one of India's most important partners," said NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Shri Suman Bery. The Indo-German partnership exemplifies success in a complex world. The NITI-BMZ Development Cooperation Dialogue will assist our two countries in realizing our potential in embedding climate action in the SDGs, energy, emerging technologies, and agroecology."

NITI and BMZ reaffirmed their commitment to working together to strengthen SDG localization at the city level and scale-up SDG implementation in the context of climate change at the state level through capacity building and incentive systems.

During the discussion, both parties emphasised the importance of deepening engagement with the Lighthouse Cooperation on Agroecology and Natural Resources and collaborating on (i) scaling up natural farming in India, (ii) strengthening research in different agro-climatic regions for natural farming practises, (iii) working toward standards and certification of natural farming products to facilitate export, and (iv) evaluating the impact of natural farming on mitigating climate change.