In News
- Recently, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz came to India on a bilateral visit.
About
- The German chancellor’s visit assumes significance as it coincides with the completion of one year of the Russia-Ukraine conflict and comes after the recent Chinese spy balloon episode that has created ripples in world geopolitics.
- During the visit both countries had discussions on economic cooperation, the Green and Sustainable Development Partnership (GSDP) and Indo-Pacific
Key outcomes of the bilateral meeting
- Green and Sustainable Development Partnership (GSDP):
- GSDP is an umbrella partnership that provides political guidance and steer to robust ties in climate action and SDGs.
- Under this, Germany will place €10 billion in new and additional commitments under their development cooperation portfolio in India.
- India-Germany agreed on a vision statement to Enhance Cooperation in Innovation & Technology.
- Under the framework of the Inter-Governmental Agreement on ‘Cooperation in Scientific Research and Technological Development’, the two countries share a long history of cooperation in science and technology, research and innovation.
- Cooperation in Green Hydrogen
- For this, the Indo-German Green Hydrogen Task Force was constituted in September 2022
- Triangular Development Cooperation:
- India and Germany agreed to work on development projects in third countries.
- Both sides concluded agreements on “Digital Transformation, FinTech, IT, Telecom and Supply chains’ diversification”.
Indo- German Ties
- About:
- India- Germany cooperation aims at benefiting humanity and is firmly guided by their shared democratic values and respect.
- India?Germany relations rest on a very strong pillar of trade and investment linkages.
- India and Germany have had a ‘Strategic Partnership’ since May 2000. This has been further strengthened with the launch of Intergovernmental Consultations (IGC) in 2011 .
- The G4 nations (Brazil, Germany, India, and Japan) support each other’s bids for permanent seats on the United Nations Security Council.
- Trade and economic relations:
- Germany is India’s largest trading partner in Europe, with a total trade of USD 21.07 Billion in 2020-21, occupying 17.4% of share in European Market.
- Germany is the 7th largest foreign direct investor in India since April 2000. Germany’s total FDI in India from 2000 until 2019 amounted to US$ 11.9 billion.
- Germany has a Bilateral Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA) with India via the EU.
- Institutional Relationship:
- The Intergovernmental Consultations (IGC) is a unique mechanism which brings together ministers and officials from both sides, to engage in bilateral discussions on cooperation and partnership across a range of areas. The focus areas for the IGC included global security policy issues and common efforts to tackle the climate crisis.
- During the last IGC in may 2022 following several agreements were signed
- Green and Sustainable Energy Partnership
- Agro-Ecology Cooperation
- Triangular Development Cooperation Projects in Third Countries
- During the last IGC in may 2022 following several agreements were signed
- A Track 1.5 Strategic Dialogue has also been established to enhance mutual understanding of national, regional and strategic interests.
- The Intergovernmental Consultations (IGC) is a unique mechanism which brings together ministers and officials from both sides, to engage in bilateral discussions on cooperation and partnership across a range of areas. The focus areas for the IGC included global security policy issues and common efforts to tackle the climate crisis.
- Defence co-operation:
- India-Germany Defence Cooperation Agreement (2006) provides a framework for bilateral defence cooperation.
- Both the countries signed the Arrangement on Implementation of the Agreement, concerning Bilateral Defence Cooperation which enables both the countries to share classified information with each other
- Indian and German navy ships regularly conduct anti piracy operations in the Indian ocean.
- The first ever Franco-Indian-German military exercise is expected to take place in 2024.
- Science & Technology:
- Bilateral Science and Technology cooperation is implemented under Inter-Governmental Agreement on ‘Cooperation in Scientific Research and Technological Development’. An apex Indo-German Committee on S&T, coordinates the implementation of activities.
- The jointly funded Indo-German Science and Technology Centre (IGSTC) was set up in Gurgaon in September 2008.
Issues
- Germany’s low trade: Germany’s trade with India is less than ten percent of its trade with china.
- Restrictive Policies: Germany has an advanced defence manufacturing comparable to that of france, but the defence exports are less than potential because of restrictive arms export policy
- Lack of a separate bilateral investment treaty between the two countries hampers the commercial potential between two countries.
- Germany is not confident about India’s trade liberalization measures, it bats for more liberal labour regulations.
Way Forward
- With more than 20% of German trade conducted in the Indo-Pacific neighbourhood and India’s centrality in the Indo-Pacific, strong ties between the countries are mutually beneficial.
Source:TH
