(Photo credit Olaf Scholz Facebook)
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to visit India for first standalone visit to strengthen ties in green technology, economic cooperation, Indo-Pacific strategy, and third country projects. Ahead of his visit, New Delhi and Berlin are working hard to establish a number of agreements and understandings in these areas.
During the visit, Scholz and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address a business roundtable that comprises top industry leaders from both sides, and they will also conclude B2B agreements. The visit comes after a year of renewed engagement between India and Germany, with the leaders meeting three times in 2022, and it will be the first standalone visit by a German Chancellor to India since the Inter-Governmental Consultation (IGC) mechanism between the two countries began in 2011.
India and Germany share a strong partnership, with Germany being India’s largest trade partner in the European Union and one of India’s top 10 global trade partners. The two countries also launched the Green and Sustainable Development Partnership (GSDP) during PM Modi’s visit to Berlin, an umbrella partnership that provides political guidance and direction to the robust ties in climate action and SDGs.
Under this partnership, Germany will also place 10 billion euros in new and additional commitments under their development cooperation portfolio in India, with around 983 million euros of new commitments finalized during the Annual Negotiation Meeting held in Delhi in November 2022.
India and Germany also agreed to cooperate on green hydrogen, and an action plan is close to finalization. Lastly, during the 6th IGC, India and Germany agreed to work on development projects in third countries, with four projects announced in May 2022, now in different stages of implementation.
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