PM Narendra Modi with German Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz. (File photo: Reuters)
Indo-German Business and geo-strategic discussions will be on top of the agenda during the upcoming visit of the German Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz over the coming weekend.
At a media briefing in New Delhi, German Ambassador Phillip Ackerman informed that the Chancellor will be accompanied by the CEOs of 12 major companies, including Siemens, SAP and heads of MSMEs of Germany. The ambassador spoke of Germany’s keen interest in continuing business with India, “We are expecting many bilateral agreements to be signed amongst German and Indian firms,” he said referring to the German business delegation that will be interacting with their Indian counterparts.
While touching on the topic of the recent Adani-Hindenburg controversy, Ackermann affirmed that Germany was only an observer of the matter, citing over 2000 German businesses currently operating in India, including small and medium sizes, an overwhelming majority of which are doing good business in In
Índia-EU FTA
Dr Ackermann also emphasized the importance of an FTA between the EU and India, which would in turn “ease up business in India and lead to a huge increase of FDI”. He further elaborated on India’s importance as a trade partner globally, being the only comparable market to China. India’s encouragement of FDI across diverse fields is appreciated by Germany, but regulations and tariffs are preventing more businesses from coming to India, according to Ackermann.
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India-Germany Defence Cooperation
Speaking on matters of defense, the German ambassador spoke of elaborate defense cooperation between India and Germany, with a broad range of defense contracts that could be discussed during the Chancellor’s visit. Assuring that defense would certainly be an item of discussion between the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, also referring to certain projects that would be considered, especially related to the P75(I).