NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday highlighted the significance of the India-Germany strategic partnership, which completed 25 years this year, and described Europe as a crucial strategic region for India in terms of trade and geopolitical ties.
He also called Germany as one of India’s most important partners. The remarks by PM Modi came while addressing the News9 Global Summit.
“The theme of this summit is India-Germany: A Roadmap for sustainable growth. This theme is a symbol of the responsible partnership of both countries,” the Prime Minister said.
He added, “Europe is an important strategic region for India, both in terms of geopolitical relations and trade and investment and Germany is one of our most important partners. Indo-German strategic partnership completed 25 years in 2024 and this year has been historic and special for this partnership.”
Speaking on the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s visit to India in October, he said, “Last month, Chancellor Olaf Scholz on his third visit to India. After 12 years, the Asia-Pacific Conference of German Businesses was organised in Delhi. In the Asia-Pacific Conference of German Businesses, Germany released the Focus on India document. Besides, the Skill Labour Strategy for India was also released. This is the first country-specific strategy released by Germany.”
Praising India’s economic growth, PM Modi said that every nation in the world aspires to collaborate with India since India is the fastest-growing economy.
“Today, India is the world’s fastest-growing economy. Every country in the world wants to partner with India for development. Germany’s Focus on India document is a great example of this. This document shows how today the whole world is acknowledging India’s strategic importance,” PM Modi said.
Elaborating on the partnership between both countries, PM Modi said that over 1800 German companies are functioning in India, and the companies invested USD 15 billion in the last couple of years.
PM Modi said, “Over the past few years, the mutual partnership between India and Germany has continuously strengthened. In India, more than 1800 German companies are operating. These companies have invested USD 15 billion in the last 3-4 years. Bilateral trade of USD 34 billion takes place between both countries. I am convinced that the trade will increase because in recent years, the partnership between India and Germany has strengthened continuously.”
Notably, Germany is India’s largest trading partner in Europe. It has consistently been among India’s top ten global partners and was the seventh-largest trading partner in FY 2020-21 (10th during FY 2021-22 up to October 2021), as per the Embassy of India in Berlin, Germany.
During 2021-22 (until October 2021), bilateral trade was USD 13.83 billion, which was an increase of 16 per cent over the corresponding period in FY 2020-21. Indian exports with USD 5.4 billion during this period witnessed an increase of about 27 per cent and Indian imports with USD 8.4 billion registered an increase of 10 per cent.