GIZ Türkiye

The Turkish - German partnership is based on a longstanding tradition. Germany’s technical development cooperation with Türkiye began in the late 1950s, was formalized in an official agreement on technical collaboration in 1970 and has evolved into different modes of cooperation since 2008. From the start, the partnership has been based on equal footing, as Türkiye’s important geopolitical position and obviously its vital role as a bridge between Europe and Asia added additional meaning to the relationship. For GIZ, Türkiye is a strategic focal point situated at the crossroads between Europe, Asia, the Caucasus, and the Middle East. GIZ has operated its own office in Ankara since 1998 and another in Gaziantep since 2014. Since 2023, GIZ also operates in Istanbul an office. Since the start of its cooperation in Türkiye, GIZ has implemented over 300 projects. Today, we can still witness the lasting success of past projects and the continued fruitful partnership with diverse Turkish public authorities, the private sector as well as civil society organizations. Our projects in the past ranged from large-scale industrial plans to other unique endeavors, such as introducing color television to Türkiye and even supporting Turkish football for a while. With the transition to new modes of cooperation, a portfolio on climate change and energy projects was initiated in 2010, while another portfolio emerged in 2015 that focused on projects to complement Türkiye’s efforts in dealing with the effects of the crisis in Syria. On February 6 and 7, 2023, two devastating earthquakes struck Kahramanmaraş, affecting eleven provinces in Türkiye and northwest Syria. In prompt response to the evolving situation, GIZ has undertaken measures to support recovery efforts in the earthquake-affected areas.