Prince Rahim Aga Khan met the President of the Federal Republic of Germany, His Excellency Dr. Frank-Walter Steinmeier, at the Bellevue Palace, Berlin on January 18.
The Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) says they discussed the decades-long development partnership between public and private institutions in Germany and the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) in Africa, South and Central Asia and the Middle East, and potential areas of future cooperation.
Germany and the AKDN have reportedly collaborated in the fields of industry, tourism, financial services, clean energy, water supply, health, education, community development, urban revitalization and infrastructure.
According to AKDN, the dialogue also covered the ongoing engagement of the Ismaili Imamat in Germany and in Europe in domains that include social inclusion, culture, education and early childhood development and care.
Recall, AKDN Resident Representative in Tajikistan Qozidavlat Qoimdodov on December 20, 2023 met in Dushanbe with Mr. York Schuegraf, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Federal Republic of Germany to Tajikistan. According to the AKDN Office in Tajikistan, the parties discussed mutual issues related to cooperation between the AKDN and the Federal Republic of Germany and Embassy of Germany to Tajikistan, including implementation of joint projects. They reportedly also discussed issues of further cooperation in the field of energy development, tourism industry and economic projects.
AKDN works for an economically dynamic, politically stable, intellectually vibrant and culturally tolerant Tajikistan. Several AKDN agencies collaborate to bring the government, private sector and civil society together, establish institutions and carry out programs to help with needs as diverse as banking, e-learning and avalanche prevention. It covers all regions of the country and employs more than 3,500 people in health care, education, business, finance and cultural activities.
As far as Germany is concerned, it has been Tajikistan’s most important bilateral donor among the EU’s member states for years. Bilateral engagement focused on sustainable economic development, with a particular emphasis on creating jobs and better income opportunities, as well as on health, particularly tuberculosis control and mother and child health. Further commitments included the construction of local schools, disaster risk reduction and the rehabilitation and/or construction of hydropower plants. Thus, the 11MW Sebzor hydropower plant construction project is being implemented in Tajikistan’s Gorno Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO) by Pamir Energy Company with financial support from the European Union and the Government of Germany through German Bank KfW.
