GERMANY’S CONTRIBUTION TO INTEGRATED MOUNTAIN DEVELOPMENT

Germany has been a major supporter of agricultural research and education. Both GTZ, the German Corporation for International Cooperation, and BMZ, the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development — the two wings of the German arm dedicated to help other countries —have always been very positive in responding to genuine needs of organisations and countries.

Germany was one of the main sponsors of the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD). Founded in 1983, this institute for mountain research is based in Lalitpur, Nepal, and serves eight regional member countries of the Hindu Kush Himalayan Region: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal and Pakistan, as well as the global mountain community. I was a trustee of ICIMOD in the early years.