BERLIN: Germany for the first time on Friday recognised it had committed genocide in Namibia during its colonial occupation, with Berlin promising financial support worth more than one billion euros to aid projects in the African nation.

"We will now officially refer to these events as what they are from today's perspective: genocide," said Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, welcoming an agreement after five years of negotiations with Namibia, a former German colony from 1884 to 1915.