German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his senior ministers arrived in New Delhi on Friday for key bilateral talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his cabinet on deepening defence ties between the two nations.
Scholz said on Friday:
“Our overall message is clear, we need more co-operation, not less. At our inter-governmental consultations with India, we also want to deepen co-operation in defense and agree to bring our militaries together.”
Scholz, accompanied by most of his cabinet, is leading a high-level delegation to New Delhi, betting that greater access to the vast Indian market could reduce Germany’s dependence on China.
Germany’s Thyssenkrupp is one of two bidders that have partnered with Indian firms to build six conventional submarines in India, a deal estimated to be worth $5 billion.
The Indian Navy is expected to choose between the German company and Spain’s Navantia in the near future.
Scholz echoed his economy minister’s remarks on the need for early progress in talks on a free trade pact between India and the European Union.
Sharing photos of the chancellor’s welcome ceremony, Indian Foreign Office spokesman Randhir Jaiswal wrote in German on social media platform X:
“Welcome to New Delhi!”
This is Scholz’s third visit to India since he became chancellor in 2021. He has visited India twice in 2023 – on a bilateral state visit in February and to attend the G20 Leaders’ Summit in September.
The German Cabinet recently adopted a key document “Focus on India” for drafting which all ministries and agencies came together and agreed on how to “take” bilateral relations to the “next level,” the country’s ambassador said.
