Regional Office Germany-East

GIZ’s Regional Office Germany-East in Berlin works with institutional partners in the German states and implements programmes and projects for a wide range of commissioning parties and funding providers, including federal ministries, international organisations such as the European Union (EU) and German state governments. In particular, it assists Berlin, Brandenburg, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia with the implementation of their projects and programmes in the field of international cooperation and develops new models of partnership between state-level institutions, federal government programmes and the donor community’s international initiatives.

This approach, in turn, enables partner countries engaged in international cooperation with Germany to gain access to relevant organisations, experts and institutional stakeholders from politics, public administration, business, academia and civil society across the various German states. Drawing on their technical and administrative expertise, they provide advice and support to the German Government’s bilateral or global programmes and to international initiatives, making a major contribution to their successful implementation.

Topics and areas of activity

The Regional Office Germany-East works in the following priority areas:

  • EU single market: On behalf of the EU and various German federal ministries, the Regional Office supports strategic partnerships with other EU member states, focusing on the renewable energy sector and economic development. For example, GIZ is advising the Greek Government on its implementation of the package of reforms agreed in the energy sector, which prioritise renewables and energy efficiency. The Regional Office also supports measures adopted within the scope of Greece’s Action Plan for the Promotion of Exports, whose purpose is to boost the country’s economy and thus help stabilise the eurozone.
  • EU reform and institutional partnerships/twinning: Working with and on behalf of German public authorities, the Regional Office facilitates the implementation of EU-funded twinning projects which build the capacities of the public administration in accession and neighbouring countries. The Regional Office also provides advisory services for the National Contact Point EU Twinning, which is based at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi), and coordinates German support for these countries’ alignment to the Community acquis.
  • Digitalisation: In relation to the ongoing process of digitalisation, the Regional Office Germany-East is a link between development/international cooperation programmes and digital transformation agencies in Germany. This includes providing support for the German Government’s ICT and migration programmes in cooperation with the young tech-savvy start-up and social enterprise sector in Germany and Europe. The Regional Office also contributes to the development of e-learning modules at GIZ’s partner universities.
  • Sustainable water resources management: The Regional Office establishes links between Germany’s specialised agencies and international cooperation programmes at local, regional, national and European level in order to facilitate a transfer of skills. Topics include sustainable water resources/wastewater management, (drinking) water supply and river basin/flood management. The German institutional partners provide advice on aspects such as operating efficiency and the development of funding models, or facilitate negotiations and decision-making on private sector participation. One example is the support provided for a German Government project in Moldova, which focuses on the modernisation of local public services in the water sector.

In addition to its engagement in these priority areas, the Regional Office is assisting the German Government with the implementation of the global Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative. It also works on various country-specific projects commissioned by the eastern German states. For example, in conjunction with the Berlin Senate Department for Economics, Energy and Public Enterprises, it initiates and promotes networking and strategic partnerships between Berlin-based start-ups and countries with which the German Government is engaged in joint development initiatives, such as Indonesia and Egypt. In other pilot projects which receive joint federal-state funding, Saxony’s specific skills, structures and networks in the fields of mining administration/supervision and national park management are utilised for the benefit of partner institutions in Mozambique.

Commissioning parties and partners

The Regional Office Germany-East works for various clients and funding providers. In addition to receiving grants from the German states, it mainly implements programmes and projects commissioned by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi), the Federal Foreign Office (AA) and the EU.

At project level, the Regional Office primarily cooperates with the state governments of Berlin, Brandenburg, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia and the EU. It also works closely with German centres of excellence and scientific institutions such as the Freiberg Geocompetence Center, businesses, e.g. Berlinwasser and Sachsen Wasser GmbH Leipzig, and social enterprises and start-ups, including Kiron Open Higher Education gGmbH and enpact in the Berlin region. 

Additional information