The Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development of Canada (DFATD) and the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development of the Federal Republic of Germany (BMZ) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Development Assistance and Cooperation Projects/Programs on March 26, 2024. The aim of this political declaration of intent is to reaffirm the cooperation between Canada and Germany in the framework of co-financing and combined financing as well as thematic priorities.

The key issues set out in the MoU are feminist development policy, climate change and conservation of biodiversity. With its Feminist International Assistance Policy, Canada is a particularly close partner of the BMZ in the area of gender equality.

Since the signing of the first MoU in 2011, the DFATD as Canada's central development policy actor has contributed around EUR 118 million to combined financing funds. In the future, Canada will also participate in combined financing with the BMZ and multilateral donors (Green Climate Fund, EU etc.). To date, the operational focus of the joint projects has been on Africa with measures in the areas of adaptation to climate change, rural development, governance as well as combating violence and crime. The largest Canadian contribution of around EUR 45 million co-finances projects implemented by the German development institutions Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW) in Mali.