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COSTA RICA - Joint visit of the Directors of LuxDev and GIZ
From February 3 to 5, 2025, Manuel TONNAR, Director General of LuxDev, and Thorsten SCHÄFER-GÜMBEL, Chairman of the Board of GIZ, carried out a joint mission to Costa Rica.
This working visit provided an opportunity to strengthen ties between the two development cooperation implementing agencies and identify potential collaboration opportunities. In a challenging international context, this mission also reaffirmed the European commitment to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. "In a world where challenges are increasingly complex, unity and collaboration among international actors are more crucial than ever to effectively and sustainably address today's and tomorrow's issues," stated the two CEOs.
Manuel TONNAR et Thorsten SCHÄFER-GÜMBEL
During this mission, the directors met with several bilateral and multilateral partners, such as the European Union Delegation to Costa Rica, to discuss strategic topics such as migration and green transport.
Matteo BANTI, head of cooperation at the EU Delegation to Costa Rica, Anna WITTENBORG, regional director for Central America at GIZ, Daniel KRIENER, German Ambassador to Costa Rica, Manuel TONNAR, Thorsten SCHÄFER-GÜMBEL and Galina KARAMALAKOVA, international relations officer, Americas Regional Affairs at the EU
The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Worship, Arnoldo André TINOCO, along with Vice Minister Lydia PERALTA, welcomed the German and Luxembourg delegations ahead of the ceremony marking 60 years of German Cooperation in Costa Rica.
Ceremony to mark 60 years of German Cooperation in Costa Rica
Finally, the LuxDev delegation visited development projects implemented by GIZ in the coffee-growing sector — aiming to ensure sustainable coffee production throughout the value chain — in order to identify potential synergies with projects implemented by the Luxembourg Development Cooperation Agency in the Latin America and Caribbean region.
Field visits
LuxDev and GIZ already collaborate in Africa, particularly in Togo, Benin, Rwanda, and Senegal, in the fields of impact finance, forestry, digitalization, and vocational training. "This visit to Costa Rica highlights our commitment to further strengthening the relationship between our two implementing agencies, in a resolutely Team Europe approach, for even greater impact," emphasized Manuel TONNAR at the end of the joint mission.
As a reminder, Luxembourg Cooperation has been present in Costa Rica since 2023. Three projects – focused on migration, South-South and triangular cooperation, and spatial digitalization – are currently being formulated with a budget of EUR 22,500,000. Meanwhile, four regional projects – Sustainable management of forests, Contribution to the Female Entrepreneurship Fund, Regional technical assistance fund in Central America, Regional programme for the promotion of women's entrepreneurship - Phase II – are being implemented. The Latin America and Caribbean regional office, based in Costa Rica, also oversees the branch and projects implemented in El Salvador.
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