New BMZ reform strategy: Development policy as a security framework and a means of promoting economic growth? – AK Rohstoffe calls for key objectives to be prioritised

Following the presentation in October by the Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung (BMZ), under Reem Alabali-Radovan, of the action plan ‘Strong Partnerships for a Successful Global Economy’, the next step followed yesterday: the unveiling of the comprehensive reform strategy ‘Shaping the Global Future’. Whilst last year the Ministry focused primarily on economic cooperation and the involvement of businesses, this reorientation now goes significantly further. According to Minister Alabali-Radovan, a “strong development policy must adapt to new realities and actively help shape them.”

The geopolitical context: filling gaps, strengthening the economy and security

This shift is driven by a worsening global situation. The US’s increasing withdrawal from traditional development aid is leaving strategic gaps into which actors such as Russia and China are moving to pursue their own interests. So says Reem Alabali-Radovan. To counteract this influence, development policy is explicitly defined in the BMZ’s new strategy as a “cornerstone of Germany’s security architecture”.

At the same time, the ministry is facing financial cuts: whilst €11.2 billion was still available in 2024, the budget for 2029 provides for just €9.3 billion. Against this backdrop, the BMZ is placing greater emphasis on “ownership by emerging economies” in its regional partnerships in the Global South – always on the basis of German interests.

The strategy under Reem Alabali-Radovan can thus be broken down into four fundamental objectives:

1. Combating poverty and inequality.
2. Strengthening national security.
3. Expanding economic cooperation.
4. Forging strategic alliances with the Global South.

Criticism from the civil society network ‘AK Rohstoffe’ – interests over human rights?

This strong emphasis on security and economic interests – coupled with the aim of removing structural barriers to the German economy – is a cause of great concern to the civil society network ‘AK Rohstoffe’. In a recent statement, the network for a globally just and democratic raw materials policy warns that the new priorities could overshadow the actual core tasks of development cooperation. The criticism can be summarised in five key points:

Firstly, AK Rohstoffe stresses that traditional objectives such as poverty reduction, climate protection and peacekeeping must remain the absolute priority. Public funds should not primarily serve to promote Germany’s foreign trade; in view of budget cuts, compliance with the international ODA quota is all the more important.

Secondly, cooperation must be consistently geared towards the needs of the local population. Instead of creating new dependencies through raw material exports alone, the network calls for the development of local value chains and the strict observance of human rights and environmental standards on the ground.

Thirdly, the association criticises the lack of civil society involvement in the strategy papers, alongside simultaneous budget cuts. Civil society actors, in particular, are essential for monitoring social and environmental standards – a role that is becoming even more important due to the withdrawal of other Western donors.

Fourthly, the network calls for the enforcement of binding standards. The BMZ should actively support companies in implementing supply chain regulations, rather than viewing regulations across the board as obstacles to be removed.

Fifthly, it calls for an absolute reduction in Germany’s consumption of raw materials. A credible development policy must prioritise the establishment of a comprehensive circular economy, rather than merely organising access to ever-new sources of raw materials.

The debate highlights the tension: whilst the BMZ seeks to safeguard German interests geopolitically in an uncertain world, civil society actors such as the Working Group on Raw Materials fear that this policy will come at the expense of human rights and environmental standards along raw material supply chains in the Global South.