India-Germany ties transformational partnership of two capable and strong democracies in era of conflicts: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Oct 25 said India-Germany ties are a transformational partnership of two capable and strong democracies and that the strategic partnership between the two has emerged as a strong anchor at a time when the world is faced with tensions, conflicts, and uncertainty.

Participating in the Seventh Inter-Governmental Consultations (IGC) with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Modi said India-Germany ties are not a transactional relationship.

“The world is passing through times of tensions, conflicts, and uncertainty. In the Indo-Pacific region, there are serious concerns about the rule of law and freedom of navigation. In times like this, the strategic partnership between India and Germany has emerged as a strong anchor,” Modi said.

Earlier Modi welcomed German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, for a one-on-one meeting at his official residence in New Delhi.

"Welcomed my friend, Chancellor Scholz, to my residence in New Delhi. Glad to be meeting him and discussing a diverse range of issues that will add momentum to the India-Germany friendship," Modi said in a post on X.

"Our nations have a strong track record of developmental cooperation and we look forward to building on this in the times to come," he added.

Scholz arrived in Delhi late on Oct 24 for the three-day official visit to the country, hoping to boost ties between Berlin and New Delhi.

As both sides co-chaired the IGC at Hyderabad House, Modi said that increasing cooperation in areas like defense and technology has emerged as a sign of “mutual trust” between the two strategic partners.

Modi recalled that this was Scholz's third visit to India and marked the "triple celebration" of the friendship between India and Germany.

"In the last IGC in Berlin in 2022, we took important decisions for our bilateral cooperation. In two years, there has been encouraging progress in various sectors of our strategic relations. There has been increasing cooperation in areas such as defense, technology, energy, green and sustainable development that have become symbols of mutual trust," Modi said.
He also welcomed the 'Focus on India' strategy announced by Germany.

“We welcome the Focus on India Strategy issued by you. I am delighted that to expand and elevate our partnership, we are taking several new and important initiatives and moving from whole of government to an approach of the whole of the nation,” he said.

Modi also said India-Germany relations are not “transactional” in nature but rather transformational ties between the two democracies.

Pertinently, Scholz’s India visit comes less than a month after the German Cabinet adopted the key strategic document Focus on India, which sheds light on the future direction of bilateral relations with India.

Earlier this month, the German government said that it wants to raise the strategic partnership that has underpinned its relationship with India since 2000 to a new level.