Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo: these are three of the 17 African countries for which the road to independence began half a century ago – under the most difficult circumstances imaginable. The 50th anniversary celebrations have ended. What remains is the question of where the continent stands today – and what role Germany should play there now. A glance at the diversity of German-African cooperation.

Police structures and cotton certification

In many of the African countries celebrating their 50th anniversary GTZ is engaged in a wide variety of priority areas. These range from helping refugees to return to their home countries to the establishment of police structures, and on to the development of quality standards for the production of cotton.

Conflict early-warning system for the African Union

Cooperation with the African Union (AU) is an important area of action. On behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), one of the ways GTZ supports the AU is by helping to set up a conflict early-warning system across the continent. Thanks to these joint efforts, the AU has been able in recent years to intervene in good time to mediate in nearly all conflicts that were brewing.

Border management for greater clarity

On behalf of the German Federal Foreign Office, GTZ has been working on unresolved boundary issues. ‘When mineral resources are involved – oil, gas or precious metals – conflicts are quick to flare up between the countries claiming these for themselves,’ explains Project Manager Christiane Gerber of the German-African Border Project (GABP). The goal of the programme is to determine and mark national boundaries in six pilot countries in East and West Africa. Two hundred kilometres of the border between Mali and Burkina Faso have already been defined.

These positive results show that successful cooperation is indeed possible, however difficult the circumstances prevailing in a number of African countries.