Members, Our Voice, Statements

V20 Ministerial Dialogue IX Statement delivered by Dr. Jürgen Zattler, Director General of Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation

Statement delivered by Dr. Jürgen Zattler, Director General of Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation

V20 MINISTERIAL DIALOGUE IX

16 October 2022

Dr. Jürgen Zattler, Director General of Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation

Thanks to you, Chair, and thanks to you all.  Kristalina started talking about her granddaughter.  I would like to start with my father who died when 61. Modest man, relatively poor for Germany.  He died at 61 and he was happy.  Because he told me he liked the mountains, that nature was perfect, the waters were here, the glaciers were there, and he really enjoyed the time.  Now when I look at my kids, I really feel sorry, like Kristalina. 

And I even feel more sorry when I look to kids but also other vulnerable people in vulnerable countries and listening to Nakeeyat Dramani, but also being encouraged that they are really standing up and trying to change the situation.

And I mean we’ve all seen those calamities, these disasters, Pakistan the last one.  And unfortunately, they are here to stay and probably they will even accelerate.  So, we can’t really lean back and wait, we have to go to action.  Therefore, I think this is a good next step.  It’s also the reason why we, as the Presidency of Germany, we try to take that on. 

We already started years ago looking at that issue.  But now we focused on the Global Shield and its climate related risks, and we clearly heard the call by climate vulnerable countries for more and better support in that area, I think it’s justified.

Our goal with the Global Shield is to deliver fast and substantial support to poor and vulnerable as quickly as possible.  And as has been said, it’s a lot about pre-arranged financing, it’s about, you know, reacting quicker, and this can save lives, livelihoods, but also costs.  For example, when we look at countries like Bangladesh, did a lot and now when the crisis like floods hit Bangladesh, the costs are not as high as they were.  So, you can do something, and the Global Shield I think can be a contribution in that time. 

So as has been said, in the meantime the G7 is fully committed to the Global Shield up to the leaders’ level.  And we are very happy to have this close partnership with the V20.  We are heartened by the leadership the V20 has shown with the Global Shield.  And it was our main goals to move forward, and to move away, in fact, from a supply to a donor driven approach in that area. 

And has also been said last Friday at the meeting, the Global Shield has been endorsed in fact by the Global partnership’s high level consultative group, that’s another major step.  And at the COP we hope to officially launch the Global Shield with you, the V20, and also with other partners.  If we succeed this could really showcase the power of the close collaboration between stakeholders and in particular the V20 and the G7.  Thanks a lot.

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