By Admin 
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will visit India on a 2-day official visit. This will be his first visit to India after becoming Chancellor of Germany. This important visit of Frederick will take place on 12-13 January. This tour is considered very important from the point of view of relations between India and Germany. Friedrich Merz will visit Ahmedabad in Gujarat and Bengaluru city in Karnataka. While Frederick is starting his visit from the Prime Minister’s home state Gujarat, on January 12, Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself will receive the German Chancellor.
There will also be bilateral talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chancellor Friedrich Merz. During this, various dimensions of strategic relations between India and Germany will be discussed. In the year 2025, strategic relations between India and Germany will also complete 25 years. There will also be talks on trade and investment between the two leaders. There will also be talks between the two leaders on technology, education, skill development and mobility. Along with this, there will be discussion on taking forward cooperation in important areas like defence, security, science, research, green and sustainable development, people-to-people contact. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and German Chancellor will also meet people from business and industry. Both the leaders will also share their views on regional and global issues.
Negotiations regarding free trade agreement
Continuous talks are also going on regarding the free trade agreement between India and the European Union. The visit of the German Chancellor in the midst of these talks can give further impetus to the FTA between India and the European Union. It is expected that FTA between India and European Union may also be announced soon. However, no official statement has come out on this yet.
One of India’s important partners
Germany is one of India’s important partners in Europe. After the Second World War, India was one of the first countries to establish relations with the Federal Republic of Germany. India and Germany celebrated the 70th anniversary of the establishment of their diplomatic relations on 7 March 2021. Since 2000, relations at the level of strategic partnership were established between the two countries. Today Germany is the third largest economy in the world while India is now only at the fourth position. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has visited Germany in the years 2017 and 2022. Apart from this, the German Chancellor has visited India several times in the last few years. In the year 2023, the then German Chancellor Scholz came on a state visit to India.
Support each other under the G4 framework
Both India and Germany support each other on the issue of expansion of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) under the G4 framework. The G4 at the level of Foreign Ministers took place on the side lines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in September 2023. Whereas the working level (Director General level) meeting was held in February, 2023. G4 countries include India, Germany, Brazil and Japan.
Economic relations between India and Germany
Economic relations between India and Germany are very close. Germany remains India’s 12th largest trading partner in the year 2023-24. Bilateral trade between India and Germany is witnessing continuous growth. According to data from the Federal Statistical Office of Germany, trade with India will reach a high of US $ 33.33 billion in the year 2023. During this period, exports from India to Germany were 15.48 billion US dollars and imports from Germany to India were 17.85 billion US dollars. In the year 2023, India was the 23rd largest trading partner of Germany.
Long standing cooperation in railway sector also
There has been cooperation between India and Germany in the railway sector for a long time. German company Siemens is supporting the sustainable transformation of India’s transportation sector. At present, India is continuously working on increasing the freight capacity of its railways. Siemens Mobility was awarded a project worth 3 billion euros, under which the supply of 1,200 electric engines and full maintenance for 35 years. Both the countries are also working together a lot in the field of agriculture. This includes strengthening post-harvest infrastructure including cold chain in India, agricultural mechanization, livestock breeding, food processing infrastructure, food safety and risk assessment, seed development, veterinary support, dairy research.
Germany faces serious shortage of workers
India and Germany are also working on migration and mobility. Germany faces a serious labor shortage, especially in the blue-collar job sector. This is the reason why India gives priority to ease the movement of people wishing to go to Germany for employment. There is a great need for nurses in Germany and for nurses, Germany turns to non-EU countries, which includes India. That is why in December 2021, a placement agreement was signed between Germany’s Federal Employment Agency (BA) and Kerala Government agency NORKA Roots for the migration of skilled health and care workers.
Cultural relations also promoted
Cultural relations are also being promoted between India and Germany through sister states and sister cities. There is a sister state arrangement between Karnataka and Bavaria, Maharashtra and Baden-Wurttemberg. There is a twinning arrangement between Mumbai and Stuttgart. Aurangabad and Ingolstadt have signed a Letter of Intent for a sister city partnership in April 2022. Twin city relationship was established between Coimbatore and Eklingan in 2016.
Indian students present in Germany for higher education
According to the data of the year 2024, about 49,483 Indian students were present in Germany for higher education. As of December 2023, approximately 2.46 lakh Indian passport holders and people of Indian origin reside in Germany. These include about 1.93 lakh NRIs and Indian passport holders and about 52,864 PIOs i.e. citizens of Indian origin. Overall, the visit of the German Chancellor to India will bring more warmth in the relations between India and Germany.
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