Political relations are good and cooperation with Sao Tome in international organisations is close. There has been a German faculty at the Universidade de São Tomé e Príncipe since 2016.

The country has traditionally shown a keen interest in relations with Germany. Many older or former leaders – including former President Manuel Pinto da Costa – studied in the former GDR and still feel a strong affinity with Germany,

Bilateral relations are looked after by the German Embassy in Libreville, the capital of Gabon. Smaller projects in the areas of rural development and education are financed through the Embassy.

Agriculture (coffee, cocoa and cotton, and increasingly palm oil) is the country’s most important economic activity. Fifty-five percent of the population are still subsisting below the breadline, on less than 3.65 US dollars per day. Ninety percent of the national budget is financed by international donor assistance (IMF, the World Bank, UNDP, the EU, Portugal, the United States, Brazil, France and the African Development Bank). The country’s most important trading partners are Portugal and Angola.

Economic relations between Germany and Sao Tome and Principe have not developed to any significant extent. There is no notable German private-sector investment in the country.