Germany and Peru want to strengthen cooperation on building and urban development. A joint declaration of intent to this effect was signed by Gunther Adler, State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB), and Edmer Trujillo Mori, Minister of Housing, Construction and Sanitation of Peru. After the signing ceremony, State Secretary Adler opened the 2nd German-Peruvian Raw Materials Forum.
The joint declaration on intent focuses on establishing closer cooperation on integrated, sustainable urban development policy, on the energy and resource-efficient development of urban neighbourhoods, urban mobility and strategies for water supply and waste water disposal. State Secretary Adler commented: "Improving the quality of life in cities is a global challenge. This is why the UN member states agreed on a New Urban Agenda at the Habitat III Conference. This new agenda confirms the course we have mapped out for ourselves. International cooperation on building and urban development is becoming more and more important in this context – this was clear from today's exchange of experiences with our Peruvian colleagues."
After the meeting, State Secretary Gunther Adler opened the 2nd German-Peruvian Raw Materials Forum together with representatives of the Peruvian environment and mining ministries and Thomas Gaeckle from the Federal Economic Affairs Ministry. He also led talks with Peru's environment minister, Elsa Galzara. As one of the main buyers of Peruvian raw materials, Germany wants to work together with the Peruvian Government and industry on implementing sustainable solutions in mining. In 2014, Germany and Peru established a raw materials partnership which provides the political framework for regular talks on raw materials.
State Secretary Adler stressed: "Germany relies on raw material imports and it is very important to us that they are extracted sustainably. Today, environmental standards, regulations on the rehabilitation of contaminated sites and advances in environmental technologies facilitate mining methods that are less damaging to the environment than they used to be. We want to work together with Peru to achieve this goal."