Bangladesh, Germany sign 2 technical cooperation deals

Two technical cooperation agreements were signed on Tuesday between Bangladesh and Germany against two projects in the fields of the Sundarban Mangroves and in tanneries.

The agreements are on the projects titled: "Integrated management of the Sundarbans Mangroves and the Marine Protected Area 'Swatch of No Ground (SoNG)' Bangladesh" and "Good Working Conditions in Tanneries (GOTAN)".

Sharifa Khan, secretary of Economic Relations Division (ERD), and Andreas Kuck, country director of GIZ on behalf of the Federal Republic of Germany in Bangladesh, signed the agreements on behalf of their respective sides, says a press release.

The total available fund for the "Integrated management of the Sundarbans  Mangroves and the Marine Protected Area 'Swatch of No Ground (SoNG)'  Bangladesh" is up to 4 million euro for a period of three years ending on  July 31, 2025.

The Department of Fisheries (DoF) under the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change will implement the project.

The government has designated the SoNG as the country's first Marine  Protected Area with a surface area of 173,000 ha. The funding proposal is  mainly based on a request for support in the wider 'Blue Sundarbans' area  received from the government in March 2017.

The main project objectives are to improve the coordination mechanisms for  the protection and sustainable use of the natural resources of the Swatch of  No Ground (SoNG) Marine Protected Area and to strengthen the capacity of BFD  in the field of marine protected area management. The total available fund for the "Good Working Conditions in Tanneries   (GOTAN)" project is up to 4 million euro to be completed by April 30, 2025.

The Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE) under  the Ministry of Labour and Employment (MoLE) will implement the project.