EAM's remarks during press interaction along with FM Johann Wadephul of Germany

Colleagues,

Friends from the Media,

We have just completed a very productive discussion on India-Germany cooperation, on our relationship with the European Union and we have exchanged views on regional, global and multilateral issues.

Now, before I come to those subjects, let me again first publicly welcome my Friend Foreign Minister Dr. Johann Wadephul who is here for the first time in his current capacity. I had the honour of being his guest this May and between May and now, we have actually been regularly in touch in this intervening period.

Now, I first got to know him when we met at the Munich Security Conference which was well before he became Foreign Minister. And I must say, even then, I was impressed by his commitment to advancing the India-Germany Strategic Partnership. I am very confident that that enthusiasm will now be applied by him fully in his new role.

During the day today, we have had detailed discussions on various aspects of our ties. This includes our political cooperation, security and defence, economic relations, research and future technologies, climate and energy as well as education, skilling, mobility and people-to-people exchanges. So let me share with you some key points which came out of today’s discussion.

One, we greatly value the understanding that Germany has shown with regard to India’s fight against terrorism. Minister Wadephul has himself been explicit about our right to defend our people against terrorist attacks. Our Parliamentary delegation that visited Germany in June after Operation Sindoor was also warmly received.

Two, there has been an uptick in our defence and security cooperation. Germany participated in the Tarang Shakti air exercises last year and its ships made port calls to Goa. Today, we agreed that such participation should be continued, indeed, even expanded. In the past, we have had significant export control difficulties in the defence and security domain. I would like to express my appreciation today for the smoothening of those processes and more expeditious clearances. We also spoke about greater industry collaboration between our two countries in this context.

Three, our two-way trade last year was almost Euro 50 billion. Minister Wadephul is on record, I saw one of his interviews, where he said that, he was very confident we will be doubling our trade. Let me assure him that India fully reciprocates that sentiment and looks forward to working with the German government. And last year, I recall, we had a very successful conference in Delhi of APK – the German Industry Association. And I want to reiterate that we remain fully committed to continuously improving the ease of doing business in this country. And I assured the Minister today that any concerns that German companies may have in India, coming to India, establishing themselves, working here, we would be prepared to give it special attention.

Four, in the semiconductor manufacturing area, that has actually emerged as a particularly promising domain. We welcome German investments and GCCs. Indian talent can make a significant contribution to Germany’s own expanding capabilities here. I must say that the model of talent preparation and flow that Germany has evolved has been particularly effective. I would really commend our German colleagues for that, and we hope to see that scale up further.

Five, we have just marked 50 years of our scientific collaboration. Intensifying that and linking it to industry is the task that we have set for ourselves. Our cyber and digital dialogues are also important.

Minister Wadephul visited the Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru, and also ISRO, and I am very glad he did, because I think space cooperation has a lot of potential – and we again today agreed that it should be more aggressively explored.

Six, on climate and energy, we have been working for the last few years on what’s called the Green and Sustainable Development Partnership. Now, some of you would be aware that projects under this have included the Nagpur Metro Rail, green energy corridors in five states and the integrated water transport project in Kochi. Our discussions today also covered green hydrogen, green energy financing and bio-fuels.

Seven, we have seen good progress in education and mobility. I believe that the largest number of foreign students in Germany are now from India. On my last two visits to that country, I heard praise for our community’s contributions from across the political spectrum in Germany. The Skilled Labour Strategy released by the German government offers a very good framework for mutual benefit. We have also agreed on gratis Visas for short – term school and college visits to further promote student exchanges.

Eight, on consular issues, I should mention that I raised the issue of Ariha Shah, an Indian child who has been in foster care of German authorities for some time. I underlined to the Minister that it is essential that her cultural rights are ensured and she grows up in Indian surroundings. So this matter needs to be resolved without further delay, and I think we have had some discussions today on that subject.

Needless to say, we also did a review of the global situation, of regional issues, of multilateral that included the Ukraine conflict, West Asia/Middle East and the Indo-Pacific. These were very very useful and I must say I really appreciated Minister Wadephul’s insights on many of these subjects.

So, let me conclude by stressing today that we see the world facing the twin challenges of economic volatility and political uncertainty. We believe that a multi-polar world with strategic autonomy can best respond through more intensive consultations and cooperation among key member states. It is in that spirit that I welcomed Minister Wadephul and his delegation today, and I must again thank him for a very open, constructive and positive approach to intensifying our Strategic Partnership.

Thank you

New Delhi
September 03, 2025