Germany and the United States, as long standing allies and partners, are committed to working together to confront the world's most pressing challenges. To strengthen our partnership in development diplomacy, USAID and Germany's Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) held the first Strategic Development Dialogue to discuss shared development priorities, including food security, climate finance, private sector mobilization, gender, global health, and G7 and G20 cooperation. The Dialogue sets in motion an annual strategic process to identify and achieve joint outcomes.
To fight global food insecurity, USAID and BMZ will increase technical cooperation in support of the 50x2030 Initiative to transform agricultural data systems in 50 countries by 2030. USAID and BMZ also agreed to co-sponsor the 2025 ICTforAg Conference, an annual gathering to share knowledge, find solutions, and form partnerships to address challenges in agrifood systems using digital technology. BMZ and USAID are also working together to further close the gender digital divide, including through joint advocacy and to keep gender among priority topics at the G7 Food Security Working Group.
BMZ and USAID agreed to explore areas for cooperation in environmental health, including lead mitigation and the nexus between climate and health. Both governments committed to accelerate progress in global health security, including continued support for the Pandemic Fund, manufacturing and delivery of medical countermeasures, efforts to combat neglected tropical diseases, and furthering a joint agenda on antimicrobial resistance, particularly ahead of the United Nations General Assembly in 2024.
The two countries agreed to explore possibilities to collaborate on food security investments, including the Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate (AIM for Climate), which seeks to address climate change and global hunger by significantly increasing investments and support for climate-smart agriculture and food systems innovation.
USAID and Germany share a strong commitment to helping developing countries access finance to support their climate mitigation and adaptation priorities. USAID and BMZ discussed opportunities to partner through the Adaptation Finance Window launched by USAID at COP28 last year to help leverage additional investment from the private sector. Additionally, USAID and BMZ agreed to work together to support urban climate action, particularly through the Cities Finance Facility.
Recognizing that today's global challenges require us to mobilize collective action and embrace new partnerships, including with the private sector, USAID and BMZ will share technical expertise on private sector mobilization and engagement, particularly on leveraging sustainable finance, advancing monitoring and evaluation of our work with private sector partners, and positioning businesses as champions for development.
The USAID-BMZ Strategic Development Dialogue follows the U.S.-Germany Conflict Prevention and Stabilization Dialogue in November 2023, and occurred alongside USAID's Humanitarian Assistance Dialogue with the German Federal Foreign Office.
