Yesterday, on July5th 2011, in Sarajevoin the presence of Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers, Mr. DraganVrankić, the new joint office of Germangovernmental institutions, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW)was opened.
Both institutions are acting on behalf of the FederalGovernment of Germany on the implementation of German Development Cooperation both in BiH and throughout the world. Since the GIZ and KfW are two core organizations for the implementation of development cooperation of the Federal Government,for a long time there has been desire that these two institutions in Sarajevo exist in joint spatial residence. This step has been accomplished by movinginto the office premises of Importanne Center.
In her greeting speech, Charge d`Affaires of Embassy of Germany in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ms. Christiana Markert,emphasized the importance of the development of politicalcooperation between these two countries: "The close connection between Germany and Bosnia andHerzegovina is reflected not only in political cooperation, but also in close economic connection and cultural exchanges. Germany is the largest bilateral donor of development projects in BiH since 1995 and has invested more than half a billion euros."
This event was attended among others representatives of KfW and GIZ from Germany, representatives of the international community in BiH, as well as numerous representatives of BiH institutions.
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH since 1995 has been operating in Bosnia and Herzegovinaon behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). Focal points of activity are sustainable economic development and the promotion of democracy and strengthening civil society. In addition to bilateral cooperation it is becoming increasingly important to promote regional cooperation with countries of Southeast Europe. GIZ-Office in Sarajevo since September2010 isthe headquarter of regional activities of GIZ and thus headquarter of the Open Regional Funds, which act in the fields of foreign trade, legal reform, modernisation of municipal services and energy efficiency. From its beginning until today, GIZ in BiH has implemented projects amounting to 130 million euros.
KfW Development Bank has for many years worked in Bosnia and Herzegovina on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), and as mandate manager of the European Union, the Government of Switzerland, Austria and Sweden, as well as other international donors. It initially supported the reconstruction of housing and also through numerous loan programs it provided support to small and medium-sized enterprises. Since 2001 the KfW Development Bank under the framework of bilateral German-BosnianHerzegovinian financial cooperation and taking into account the common desire of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the BiH partners, focuses on three sectors:
• strengthening of energy production with an emphasis on renewable energy sources (hydro power, wind),
• Development and expansion of municipal infrastructure, especially in the field of water supply and waste water treatment,
• financial sector development in the field of deposit insurance, micro-financing and financing of smalland mediumenterprises and investments in the field of efficient energy consumption.
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