05/07/2009

The Federal President said that business initiatives in developing and threshold countries should be given greater support.

The Federal President's statement confirms that an intelligent linking of development cooperation and foreign trade promotion helps in two ways – by creating sustainable structures, jobs and prosperity in under-developed regions as well as by providing an additional impetus to the economy, thus helping to combat the crisis" said BDI Director General Werner Schnappauf on the occasion of Federal President Horst Köhler's speech at the celebration marking the 75th anniversary of the German-African Business Association in Berlin.
Within the framework of the ceremony the Federal President welcomed the BDI initiative on "Healthcare Infrastructure in Developing Countries and Emerging Markets" as an excellent example of successful cooperation between business and development cooperation. The initiative's objective is to explore possibilities to establish efficient hospitals in the world's less developed regions and to maintain them over the long term. Both German healthcare companies and the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) - with the support of the KfW Development Bank - are committed to this cause. "Business Initiatives in developing countries and emerging markets should be given greater support", said Mr. Schnappauf. "German business would like to develop appropriate cooperation above and beyond the healthcare sector by systematically developing Public Private Partnerships (PPP) in development cooperation – for example in the infrastructure sector, in the field of climate and environmental protection and in the water industry.