German Chancellor Friedrich Merz Likely to Visit India Next Month to Boost Bilateral Ties
Germany had earlier this month announced new commitments amounting to almost 1.3 billion euros
New Delhi: India will begin a major outreach to Europe early next year. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is expected to visit India next month to strengthen bilateral ties, a visit considered significant as Germany is the strongest economy within the EU and also the world’s third-largest economy. Soon after, European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa are tipped to be chief guests at the Republic Day parade and attend the India-European Union summit the next day in New Delhi, while French President Emmanuel Macron will visit India in February for the Artificial Intelligence (AI) summit that will be hosted by India.
Following the “successful conclusion” of its government negotiations on development cooperation 2025 with India, Germany had earlier this month announced new commitments amounting to “almost 1.3 billion euros, primarily in the form of concessional loans, across the key areas of climate and energy, sustainable urban development, green urban mobility, and sustainable management of natural resources”.
Germany had further said that bilateral cooperation (with India) in the skills development sector, in particular, renewable energy will be strengthened. It also reaffirmed its “strong and future-orientated partnership” with India “under the Green and Sustainable Development Partnership (GSDP)”.
India and the EU have been locked for months in intense negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) which is still proving elusive. But the expected visit of the two top EU leaders next month has lent an urgency to efforts to clinch a deal. India’s successful efforts to reach an FTA with New Zealand have added to the momentum.
Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal had held discussions earlier this month in the national capital with European Union’s commissioner for trade and economic security Maroš Šefčovič that were “aimed at providing strategic guidance to the FTA negotiating teams as both sides work towards concluding the agreement at the earliest”.
“Technical discussions” had also taken place between the two sides earlier this month “across key chapters of the India-EU FTA covering market access for goods, rules of origin, services, technical barriers to trade, trade and sustainable development”. During their engagement, Mr Goyal and Mr Šefčovič had “carried out detailed deliberations across key areas of the proposed agreement”.
The French President’s forthcoming visit in February is also expected to further cement the strategic and defence ties between India and France, which is the second-strongest economy within the EU after Germany.
