03.01.2013 -

Bonn - The Federal Ministry for Economic Co­op­er­a­tion and De­vel­op­ment (BMZ) is helping Bonn In­ter­na­ti­o­nal School (BIS) to expand its capacity. The BMZ is providing the school with 250,000 euros.

BMZ State Secretary Hans-Jürgen Beerfeltz noted, Bonn is the most important United Nations location within Germany and is already home to numerous in­ter­na­ti­o­nal organisations. If Bonn is to become even more attractive for pro­fes­sion­al in­ter­na­ti­o­nal staff, the school capacity constraints must be addressed. In­ter­na­ti­o­nal workers need appropriate schools for their children. Otherwise they won't come to Bonn. If Bonn is able to attract the best and the bright­est, the in­ter­na­ti­o­nal organisations headquartered here will be able to deliver top performance for the benefit of our partner countries.

The BMZ has been undertaking targeted efforts to strengthen Bonn as a site for in­ter­na­ti­o­nal organisations, as required by Germany's Bonn/Berlin Act. The BMZ is itself an important employer in Bonn. And it has strengthened Bonn through the reform of Germany's implementing organisations for de­vel­op­ment co­op­er­a­tion. The Bonn offices of GIZ have been given a stronger role. And the BMZ newly established two institutions in Bonn: Global Civic En­gage­ment, the service point for civil society; and the German Institute for De­vel­op­ment Evaluation (DEval). In addition, the BMZ supports the es­tab­lish­ment of United Nations secretariats and in­ter­na­ti­o­nal gov­ern­mental and non­gov­ern­ment­al organisations in Bonn, for example the Innovation and Technology Centre of the In­ter­na­ti­o­nal Renewable Energy Agency, IRENA. State Secretary Beerfeltz said, There is no other city in Germany that profits as much by the BMZ's work as Bonn does.

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