Transform SA online has learnt from the Germany Embassy that Germany has committed to provide nearly R1bn to South Africa for various joint projects.
In a statement, embassy spokesperson Rainer Breul, said: “A total of €72.5m, nearly R1bn, were committed by Germany to the government of South Africa for development co-operation.”
A further €38.5m was promised for financial co-operation programmes and €34m for technical co-operation programmes.
During a bi-national commission meeting chaired by Germany’s Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his South African counterpart Maite Nkoane-Mashabane, a number of topics were discussed including the Ebola epidemic, the political situation in South Sudan, and “troubling developments in the Great Lakes region”.
The countries confirmed their focus on co-operation on HIV/Aids prevention, governance and public administration, and energy and climate issues – in particular, South Africa’s transition to a green economy.
According to Breul, the other areas that are to be looked into in future include introducing a national minimum wage, as well as exchange of information and technical discussions.