Jaishankar: Huge Potential for India-Germany Trade and Strategic Ties

National News: External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Wednesday said that at present "significant and far-reaching changes" are taking place in the global strategic and economic landscape. Amidst these changes, there is a need to further deepen cooperation between India, the European Union (EU), and especially Germany. Jaishankar said this while addressing a joint press conference with German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul at Hyderabad House in New Delhi. "We are seeing big and deep changes in the global strategic landscape. There is also great volatility in the global economic landscape. In such a situation, there is an extreme need for closer cooperation between India, the European Union, and Germany," Jaishankar said. "These major changes taking place in the world present a strong argument for making India-Germany relations deeper, stronger and broader."

Emphasis on trade relations and FTA

Jaishankar said that the main focus of their talks was on advancing India-Germany bilateral relations and the Free Trade Agreement (FTA). He said that the German Foreign Minister has assured that Germany will give full support to the India-EU FTA talks. "Today our discussion mainly focused on bilateral relations. The minister assured that Germany will give full support to the FTA talks," Jaishankar said.

The Foreign Minister said that trade relations between India and Germany are continuously getting stronger. Last year, trade between the two countries reached about 50 billion euros. This trade is expected to double in the coming years.

Increasing economic pressure on India

This meeting took place at a time when India is facing economic challenges. Recently, the Donald Trump administration has decided to impose a 50% tariff on some products imported from India, especially on imports related to Russian crude oil. This move has put additional pressure on India's trade and energy sector. Wadeful arrived in New Delhi on Wednesday after beginning his India visit from Bengaluru on Tuesday. During this, he participated in several high-level talks.

New dimensions of strategic partnership

Jaishankar said that cooperation between India and Germany is not limited to trade, but it is opening new avenues of strategic and technological partnership. The areas he prioritized include:

• Expansion of trade and investment
• Strategic and security cooperation
• Technological and innovation partnership
• Renewable energy and climate change

Jaishankar emphasized that in the era of current global challenges, strong India-Germany relations are very important for both the countries as well as global stability.