Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (Turkey)

The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ)  has maintained an office in Ankara since 1998.

Since the start of the crisis in neighbouring Syria in 2011, Turkey has taken in almost three million Syrian refugees. It is also hosting refugees and asylum seekers from other countries in the region, including Iraq and Afghanistan. The Turkish authorities thus face major challenges in providing adequate education and health care, for example, for the new arrivals. Social cohesion is also at risk in some host communities, especially in the south of the country, where refugees now outnumber local residents in some municipalities. Working on behalf of the German Government, GIZ is assisting host communities in setting up education programmes and creating opportunities for generating income. GIZ also funds community centres which provide various services for refugees and local marginalised groups.

In addition, GIZ implements climate change and energy efficiency projects on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU).

GIZ is also actively engaged in EU pre-accession assistance programmes, focusing mainly on education and vocational training (TVET), employment, women’s empowerment and human rights.