State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development Martin Jäger visits KfW

Martin Jäger, State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), spent a whole day visiting KfW on 19 March 2019. In a series of in-depth discussions, he exchanged thoughts with KfW Development Bank’s management and employees about the latest topics in the world of development cooperation. He was welcomed by Dr Joachim Nagel, Member of the Executive Board of KfW Group where he is responsible for KfW Development Bank. As well as taking stock of current commitments, there were also conversations about the future direction of development cooperation in a rapidly changing world – not least given the challenges offered by the digital revolution, for which KfW is well prepared. This was convincingly demonstrated to State Secretary Jäger on a tour of KfW’s InnoLab, where he was shown the range of Financial Cooperation services and a number of promising approaches for innovative project work.

KfW’s employees also had the opportunity to engage with the State Secretary. At a development forum in the afternoon, Martin Jäger gave an overview from the Ministry’s perspective in front of staff from KfW's Head Office in Frankfurt and the representative offices, who had shown up in large numbers. In the subsequent discussion, he fielded questions from the receptive audience. As the former German Ambassador to Afghanistan, Jäger was able to share a significant example from his past, explaining that he still has positive memories of KfW from that period, as the bank had provided highly professional support that helped to improve security at a particularly sensitive location. At the podium with Dr Nagel and Director of Strategy, Communication and Sustainability Marc Engelhardt, Jäger emphasised several times the constructive relationship that still lives on to this day in his close connection with KfW. A strong starting point for the Ministry and KfW to successfully continue and expand their work together in the future.