President Droupadi Murmu with the German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz at Rashtrapati Bhawan, in New Delhi on February 25, 2023.
New Delhi: Security and defence cooperation can become an important pillar of indo-German strategic partnership, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told the visiting German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, here today. He said India and Germany will continue to make efforts to fully realize their untapped potential in this area.
Modi pointed out that in the fight against terrorism and separatism, there is active cooperation between India and Germany. Both countries also agree that concerted action is necessary to end cross-border terrorism.
Along with being India’s largest trading partner in Europe, Germany is also an important source of investment in India. “Today, due to “Make in India” and “Aatmanirbhar Bharat” campaigns, new opportunities are opening up in all sectors in India. The interest shown by Germany in these opportunities is very encouraging for us,” Modi said.
India and Germany are increasing mutual cooperation under the Triangular Development Cooperation for the development of third countries. In the last few years, the People-to-people relations between both countries have also strengthened. “And this relationship will be further deepened with the Migration and Mobility Partnership Agreement signed in December last year,” Modi said.
Moreover, Germany is also India’s second-largest development cooperation partner. In recent years, Germany emerged as a favoured destination for Indian students and researchers wishing to pursue higher education, especially in Science and Technology.
Last year during Modi’s visit to Germany, both countries had announced the Green and Sustainable Development Partnership. “Through this, we are expanding cooperation in the areas of Climate Action and Sustainable Development Goals. We have also decided to work together in areas like Renewable Energy, Green Hydrogen and bio-fuels,” Modi said.
The business delegation that came today with Chancellor Scholz and Indian business leaders also had a meeting, and they discussed topics such as Digital Transformation, FinTech, IT, Telecom, and Diversification of Supply Chains.
On the war in Ukraine, Modi told Scholz that since the beginning India has insisted on resolving this dispute through dialogue and diplomacy. “India is ready to contribute to any peace process. We have also agreed that reform of multi-lateral institutions is necessary to reflect global realities in a better way. This is evident from our active participation within the G4 to reform the UN Security Council,” he said.
It may be mentioned that recently speaking at the Munich Security Conference, Scholz, while talking about Germany’s military support for Ukraine, had explained that it was important to strike a balance between providing the best possible support to Ukraine and avoiding any unintended escalation. “At the same time,” he said, “we are being careful to avoid any direct war between NATO and Russia.” According to him, that was why all measures were carefully weighed and coordinated among the Allies.
Scholz today also called on President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhawan. Murmu noted that India and Germany have shared aims in upholding democratic values, the rules-based international order, multilateralism, as well as the reform of multilateral institutions. Recalling that India and Germany have a strong cultural connection, with a long tradition of German Indologists working on India, Mumu said, “As two vibrant, pluralistic democracies, India and Germany can play an important role in addressing new and emerging global challenges”.
– global bihari bureau
