Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation between Republic of Turkey and the Qudra Programme signed by Prime Ministry, line ministries and GIZ
On 23 May 2018, the Government of Turkey, represented by the Prime Ministry, conducted the signing ceremony for the Memorandum of Understanding for Cooperation with Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH for the Qudra Programme (Resilience for Syrian refugees, IDPs and host communities in response to the Syrian and Iraqi crises) which is a regional action co-financed by the EU Regional Trust Fund/MADAD) and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
The event was held under the chairmanship of the Strategy Development Directorate of the Prime Ministry of Republic of Turkey, Mr. H. Halil Afşarata. Mr. Mustafa Karaman (Deputy Undersecretary of the Ministry of Family and Social Policies of the Republic of Turkey); Mr. İbrahim Özekinci (Deputy Undersecretary of the Ministry of Youth and Sports of the Republic of Turkey) and Mr. Mehmet Nezir Gül (General Director of the Lifelong Learning Directorate of the Ministry of National Education of the Republic of Turkey) participated as well. On behalf of GIZ, the Memorandum was signed by Mr. Carsten Demut (Head of Finance and Administration of the GIZ Country Office) and Dr. Günther Taube (Qudra Programme Director).
The German Government and European Union (EU) are working together to support Syria’s neighbouring countries in their efforts to cope with the refugee crisis. The Qudra Programme (‘qudra’ is Arabic for strength, capacity and ability) is financed primarily through the EU’s MADAD Trust Fund. The programme promotes joint European approaches to solving problems in the region by bringing together the knowledge and experience of GIZ as leading agency and, Expertise France (EF), the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) and Hungarian Interchurch Aid (HIA) as implementing partners.
The government of the Republic of Turkey and GIZ are committed to jointly achieving the Qudra Programme’s specific objectives in Turkey to promote resilience by improving service delivery, supporting livelihoods, increasing access to good quality education services and employment opportunities and promoting national and regional dialogue for vulnerable men and women and youth. The Memorandum of Understanding ensures the cooperation between the Ministries and the Qudra Programme, including the attainment of the fundamental policies of the Law on Foreigners and International Protection by the government of the Republic of Turkey. It also broadens the international participation through a joint responsibility to find sustainable solutions in response to the refugee crisis by an enhanced implementation with the expertise and resources of all Qudra Programme’s partners.
This signing ceremony marks an important achievement for the Qudra Programme as well as its partner ministries in the Republic of Turkey, coordinating the activities in good faith and seeks swift and beneficial agreements.
