Modi on Scholz Visit Hails Germany’s ‘Focus on India’ Strategy
Germany Seeks Close Military Relations With India
By Raisina Correspondent
New Delhi, October 25: Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed ‘Focus on India’ strategy of Germany during the Inter-Governmental Consultation with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Modi told Scholz that the strategic partnership of India and Germany has emerged as a strong anchor in times of global uncertainty.
The visiting German Chancellor announced enhanced Visa for skilled Indian professionals to 90,000 annually. The Visa cap had been 20,000. Scholz is on India visit for two days.
“This is your third trip to India. Fortunately, this is also the first IGC meeting of my third term. In a way, this is a triple celebration of our friendship. In 2022, during the last Inter-Governmental Consultation held in Berlin, we made important decisions for bilateral cooperation,” Modi said in his opening remarks at the IGC meeting.
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The prime minister stated that “in the last two years, there has been encouraging progress in various areas of our strategic partnership. Increasing cooperation in areas such as defence, technology, energy, and green and sustainable development has become a symbol of mutual trust.”
On the occasion, Scholz said: “Twenty five years ago, we created the strategic partnership between Germany and India. With time, the cooperation between the two sides has become ever more trusting, solid and substantial.”
The German Chancellor said that his country seeks to attract more skilled labour from India in the fields of medicine and IT. He added that Germany has “developed a specific country-specific agenda for India”. Scholz said that he shared the agenda with India.
Scholz emphasised that Germany seeks deeper partnership with India on clean energy. “Our countries also want to cooperate more closely in the fields of environmentally friendly and sustainable technologies like digitization, software, and semiconductor production,” said Scholz.
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Modi underlined the “period of tension, conflict, and uncertainty” in parts of the world. “There are also serious concerns about the rule of law and freedom of navigation in the Indo-Pacific region. In such times, the strategic partnership between India and Germany has emerged as a strong anchor,” added Modi.
India and Germany have recently held joint naval exercises. German submarines naval vessels will soon be arriving at Indian ports.
“This is not a transactional relationship; this is a transformational partnership between two capable and strong democracies—a partnership that is contributing to building a stable, secure, and sustainable future for the global community and humanity,” Modi told Scholz. He said, in this regard, the ‘Focus on India’ strategy you released last week is most welcome.
Modi said that the increase in the annual quota of visas for skilled Indian workers from 20,000 to 90,000 marks a significant boost in opportunities for skilled professionals from India to work in Germany.
The announcement was made during Scholz’s three-day visit to India. Germany is the third largest economy in the world behind the US and China. India is the fifth largest economy, being marginally behind Japan.
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Speaking at the 18th Asia-Pacific Conference of German Business 2024, Scholz noted the growing presence of Indians in Germany. “Indians are the largest group of foreign students at our universities,” said Scholz. He added that the number of Indians working in Germany increased by 23,000 last year.
Scholz and Modi discussed the ongoing negotiations for a free-trade agreement between India and the European Union. The talks resumed in June 2022. The two leaders also discussed measures to boost military relationship.
On the watch of Modi and Scholz, a number of agreements were signed between the two countries which included ‘Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) in Criminal Matters’, ‘Agreement on the Exchange and Mutual Protection of Classified Information’, ‘Indo-German Green Hydrogen Road Map’, ‘Road Map on Innovation and Technology’, ‘Joint Declaration of Intent in the field of Employment and Labour’, ‘Joint Declaration of Intent for Joint Cooperation in Research and Development on Advanced Materials’, ‘Joint Declaration of Intent on the Indo-German Green Urban Mobility Partnership for All’, and ‘Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in the field of Skill Development and Vocational Education and Training’.
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