Germany–Myanmar relations
Germany |
Myanmar |
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In 2014, the
Relations before 1988
From 1954 to 1988, Germany and Myanmar maintained a close relationship that was largely supported by Germany's development policy.
Political relations
The first diplomatic relations between the
The
Development aid
The FRG launched development assistance programs shortly after establishing diplomatic relations with Burma. Although Germany was the second largest donor nation behind Japan and the most important Western European development partner for Burma, providing DM 1.15 billion between 1956 and 1988, the partnership was less significant from a German perspective.[1] The approach to development assistance at the time was significantly different from that practiced today. Instead of providing humanitarian and grassroots aid through NGOs, Germany focused on technical projects and cooperation. A large part of the development aid benefited projects of the German Agency for Technical Cooperation and the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.[1] In addition, German experts accompanied technical projects in an advisory capacity. In addition to development aid and cooperation in the technical and academic fields, the aid also included loans to the Burmese state. Burmese officials and military personnel also repeatedly visited the Federal Republic for training purposes.[1] Furthermore, Germany awarded scholarships to Burmese students in Germany.[4] The Burmese government, however, tried to stop this by imposing punitive fines and revocation of citizenship upon completion of studies abroad.[5]
Fritz Werner GmbH
A special role in the bilateral relationship was played by the Fritz Werner GmbH company from Geisenheim, which specialized primarily in industrial plants for the production of armaments. It was state-owned from 1954 to 1990 and consequently enjoyed full support from the authorities in doing business with Myanmar.[6] Its discreet handling of the state's internal affairs and reliability helped the company to gain a foothold in Burma.[1] The management of Fritz-Werner GmbH had excellent relations with the military and the government, especially with General Ne Win, and systematically built on these over the years. By 1988, 600-700 young military officers and engineers had been trained in the GmbH's workshops in Berlin and Geisenheim.[5] Among the participants in the training project were Maung Maung Kha, who later became prime minister, and U Maung Cho, the minister responsible for the defense industry.[1] The relationship went so far that the head of Fritz-Werner GmbH had a more privileged position than the German Embassy in Rangoon and acted as a mediator in most bilateral projects and agreements.[7] In total, Fritz-Werner GmbH advised on 22 of its own and another five external projects in Burma until 1988. The close relationship enabled Fritz-Werner GmbH to be the only company allowed to invest in Burma during the Ne Win era, when foreign companies were only allowed to invest in the country in partnership with the state. However, its business in Burma has been criticized for playing a major role in the military's rise to power and the bloody suppression of pro-democracy protests in August 1988.[1][5] State-owned Fritz-Werner GmbH and the government were suspected of involvement in the events and of supplying the military with armaments. The German government denied any knowledge of this.
Relations from 1988 to 2012
German-Myanmar relations from 1988 to 2012 were characterized by stagnation.
The consequences of the 1988 coup
After the mass demonstrations in Burma in August 1988 and the coup on September 18 of the same year, the strategy of German foreign policy toward the country changed abruptly. While the funds for development aid still amounted to 31.7 million USD in 1988, ten projects worth 50 million DM were already shut down in December 1988 and the majority of the experts in the country were ordered back to Germany.[1] Only three experts remained in the country to finish projects that had been started. These radical measures can be described as a "negative pedant to the non-reaction before 1988, as the Federal Republic had turned a blind eye to the dictatorial features of Ne Win's government."[1] The new strategy had a negative impact on Germany's foreign policy. The new strategy resulted in Germany losing its privileged position and all networks in the country.
Sanctions of the EU and Germany
In 1990, the EU also reacted with its first
Relations since 2012
There have been efforts to revive the partnership since 2012, after it was restricted for several years by EU sanctions.
Rising economic ties
From February 9 to 12, 2014, Joachim Gauck became the first German president to visit Myanmar since 1986. Among other things, Gauck met with President Thein Sein and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. During the German president's visit, an agreement regarding Myanmar's old debts was also signed. "The bilateral agreement settles the debts in arrears as of the end of 2012, amounting to about 1.1 billion euros, of which 50 percent will be forgiven. The remaining 50 percent, or about 542 million euros, will be deferred and is to be repaid between 2020 and 2027." The background to this agreement was the Paris Club's decision on the multilateral debt settlement in January 2013.
Since 2011, trade between Germany and Myanmar has been slowly picking up. Thus, there is a high demand for German products, especially in the field of
Development aid
During his visit in February 2012, the then Federal Minister Dirk Niebel advocated promoting sustainable economic development. German involvement in this area, represented by GIZ, focuses primarily on promoting vocational training, as Germany's dual education system is a perfect template. It also supports projects to further develop the private and financial sectors Non-governmental organizations from Germany are also involved in areas such as humanitarian aid, poverty alleviation, curbing drug cultivation, and the health sector.[8]
In 2020, Germany again suspended its development aid to the country.[13] After the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état relations worsened further.
German institutions in Myanmar
- German Embassy in Rangoon (1954)
- Delegate Office of the German Economy, AHK Myanmar (2013)
- Goethe-Institut in Rangoon (2014 reopended)
- German-Myanmar Business Chamber (2015)
Migration
With officially registered 1402 Burmese (2013), Germany is the second largest European country after the United Kingdom for migrants from Myanmar.[14]
Literature
- Hans-Bernd Zöllner: Birma zwischen „Unabhängigkeit Zuerst-Unabhängigkeit Zuletzt“. LIT-Verlag, Hamburg 2000, ISBN 3-8258-4360-2.
- Michael von Hauff: Economic and Social Development in Burma/Myanmar, The Relevance of Reforms. Metropolis-Verlag, Marburg 2007, ISBN 978-3-89518-635-6.
- Lukas Brandau: EU-Sanktionen: das Beispiel Myanmar. Abera, 2010, ISBN 978-3-934376-91-5.
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Revel, Arthur. "Die deutsch-myanmarischen Beziehungen vor und nach 1988" (PDF). Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung. Retrieved 2022-11-09.
- ^ "Myanmar: Steckbrief". Auswärtiges Amt (in German). Retrieved 2022-11-09.
- ^ Hans-Bernd Zöllner: Unverstandene Partnerschaft in der „Einen Welt“. Eine Studie zu den deutsch-birmanischen Beziehungen am Beispiel der Firma Fritz Werner in Birma. In: Weltmission heute. 1993, p 22
- ^ Horst Rudolf: „Zum Stand der Zusammenarbeit auf dem Bildungssektor zwischen der Bundesrepublik Deutschland und Myanmar“ in: Geiger, Heinrich (publisher): Südostasien: Religion – Kultur – Bildung. Der Beitrag des KAAD zur Bildungszusammenarbeit mit den Festlandstaaten Südostasiens .Verlag des Katholischen Akademischen Ausländer-Dienstes, 2001, p. 43.
- ^ a b c Lwin, Aung. "The German Connection – A European Economic Super Power and a Military Dictatorship".
- ^ Hans-Bernd Zöllner: Birma zwischen „Unabhängigkeit Zuerst – Unabhängigkeit Zuletzt“: Die birmanische Unabhängigkeitsbewegung und ihre Sicht der zeitgenössischen Welt am Beispiel der birmanisch-deutschen Beziehungen zwischen 1920 und 1948. In: Demokratie und Entwicklung. volume 38. 2000, p. 14.
- ^ Hans-Bernd Zöllner: Unverstandene Partnerschaft in der „Einen Welt“. Eine Studie zu den deutsch-birmanischen Beziehungen am Beispiel der Firma Fritz Werner in Birma. In: Weltmission heute. 1993, S. 53 ff.
- ^ a b c d Arthur Minsat: „Sechzig Jahre Deutsch-Myanmarischer Beziehungen: Eine Retrospktive“ In: Ute Köster/Phuong Le Trong/Christina Grein (publisher), „Handbuch Myanmar“, 2014
- ^ Marco Bünte: „Problemstaat“ Myanmar – Zum schwierigen Umgang mit dem Militärregime (PDF) Aufruf: 26. Januar 2016.
- ^ Antwort der Bundesregierung auf die Kleine Anfrage der Abgeordneten Marlies Pretzlaff, Klaus-Jürgen Hedrich, Norbert Blüm, weiterer Abgeordneter und der Fraktion der CDU/CSU, Drucksache 14/3930.
- ^ Answer of the Federal Government to the small inquiry of the Members of Parliament Rainer Funke, Daniel Bahr(Münster), Rainer Brüderle, further Members of Parliament and the parliamentary group of the FDP, Drucksache 15/2643.
- ^ Deutsche Botschaft Rangun: Bilaterale Wirtschaftsbeziehungen. rangun.diplo.de at the Wayback Machine (archived 2016-02-03) January 2016
- ^ "Deutschland zieht sich aus Myanmar zurück | DW | 14.05.2020". DW.COM (in German). Retrieved 2022-11-09.
- ^ Statistisches Bundesamt, Fachserie1 Reihe2: Bevölkerung und Erwerbstätigkeit – Ausländische Bevölkerung.