Germany is one of the biggest donors of assistance provided within the framework of development cooperation. At the beginning of 1 996 it was working with 124 countries in a spirit of equal partnership. As early as 1961 a special Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation was created (in 1993 the words “and Development” were added to the title) - the first time any country had appointed a cabinet minister with sole responsibility for development cooperation. This showed the determination of the German parliament, government and people to help other nations in need ln the light of their own country’s experience after the war when its economy had to be rebuilt and help from abroad made this possible.

tv en after unification and the profound changes in Cental and Eastern Europe, Germany has broadened its relations with the developing countries in awareness of its increased global responsibility. All leading members of the government and the opposition want united Germany to honor its commitments to the people in the developing countries and to increase its development assistance further still in the long term. Following the collapse of the former East bloc, the scope of cooperation has been enlarged to include not only the traditional developing countries but also new partners: the transition countries in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. In the course of more than 30 years of development cooperation, the Federal Government, together with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and private institutions, has accumulated valuable experience and created a broad range of instruments for assisting developing countries.