The new German Ambassador to Tonga HE Mr Thomas Meister presented his Letters of Credence to HM King George Tupou V at the Consular House yesterday afternoon, March 16.

Following his audience with the King the German Ambassador held talks with the Prime Minister Hon Dr Feleti Sevele, and the Minister for Environment and Climate Change, Noble Ma'afu.

Yesterday afternoon, Mr Meister explained that in the 1990's the German Government had changed its policy on its aid program to the Developing World.

He said that the new policy consisted of a Bilateral and a Multilateral Aid Program. Under a Multilateral Aid Program Germany contributed 20% of the European Union's Development Fund, and Tonga is one of the recipients of development assistance from that.

With the Bilateral Aid Program he said that Germany had committed $4.2 million euro to a regional program called the Pacific-German Regional Program on Adaptation to Climate Change in the Pacific Islands, a program launched in January 2009. The four-year program is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development through the South Pacific Community Land Resources in Suva, and the piloting countries are Tonga, Vanuatu and Fiji.

The Ambassador, a former Head of Division for International Energy Policies in Berlin, in particular with renewable energies, stressed the importance of the project and aimed at supporting Tonga's endeavours to integrate climate change issues and adaptation strategies into its land policies and planning.

In addition to the Regional Climate Adaptation program Germany committed another $10 million euros to Climate Change programmes in the Pacific region as announced in Copenhagen in December last year, the Ambassador added.

Friendship,/b>

Germany also funds small projects, focusing on the school sector and health-care infrastructure. In 2009 it funded four projects worth a total of nearly $30,000 euros.

German and Tonga ties dated back to a friendship treaty signed in 1876 renewed in 1977, and had been maintained since, he said.

The German Ambassador who serves Tonga, Samoa, Fiji and the Cook Islands returned today to Wellington.