Indo-German Relations

Context: Recently, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz came to India on a bilateral visit.

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 and 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 Bilateral Relations:

• Germany is one of India’s most important partners in Europe owing to the strength of bilateral relations, as also Germany’s key role in the EU.
• India was among the first countries to establish diplomatic ties with the Federal Republic of  Germany after the Second World War.
• On March 7, 2021, India and Germany marked the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations.

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.

Multilateral Cooperation:

• Germany and India support each other on UNSC expansion within the framework of the G-4.
• Germany joined the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) in February 2020 and  participated in the first Governing Council meeting in March 2020.
• In April 2021, the German Federal Cabinet approved the signing of the amended framework agreement of the International Solar Alliance (ISA), and  thereby Germany’s accession to the ISA.

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 and Technology:

• Bilateral Science and Technology cooperation is implemented under an Inter-Governmental Agreement on ‘Cooperation in Scientific Research and  Technological Development’ signed in May 1974.
• The Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research  (BMBF) are the nodal agencies for overall coordination.
• An apex Indo-German Committee on Science and Technology, established in 1994 coordinates the implementation of  cooperation and joint review of activities.

Culture and Indian diaspora:

• The translation of Kalidas’s ‘Shakuntala’ in 1791 envisaged institution-based scientific research on sacred Indian texts for the  quest of Indian philosophy and literature.
• Max Mueller was the first scholar of Indo-European languages to translate and publish Upanishads and Rigveda.
• There are around 03 lakh (December 2021) Indian passport holders and Indian-origin people (about 1.60 lakh NRIs/Indian Passport holders and around  43,000 PIOs) in Germany.

Issues associated with bilateral relations:

• 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:

At present, in spite of various setbacks, the Indo-German relations have made a rapid stride. The ‘policy of benign neglect’ had changed into a more ‘vibrant partnership’. Indo-German cooperation should be based on a win win situation so that both countries can help each other in improving their economic, technological, defence and political position in the international arena.

This is not a difficult task as Germany are India are “natural allies”. While Germany has surplus capital, modern technology and a demographic deficit, India has a deficit of capital, lacks modern technology and has exportable human capital.

Source: The Hindu