BERLIN (dpa-AFX) – Germany and India want to work more closely together on climate protection, migration and strengthening democracy. Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi signed a total of 14 agreements for stronger cooperation at the Indo-German intergovernmental consultations in Berlin on Monday. The Chancellor also invited Modi to the G7 summit in June at Schloss Elmau in Bavaria. “India is a key partner for Germany in Asia – in terms of economy, security policy and climate policy,” said Scholz. “We stand ready to continue and, crucially, expand our close cooperation with India on global issues.”
Cooperation in hydrogen production
Above all, Modi appreciated the closer cooperation on climate protection. “Today we are proclaiming an Indo-German partnership for green and sustainable development,” he said. Among the agreed projects is a cooperation in the future technology hydrogen. Due to the good conditions for the generation of renewable electricity, India could become an important global production location for green hydrogen in the long term, explained the Federal Ministry of Economics.
Germany should be CO2-neutral by 2045. To achieve this, production processes, for example in the steel and chemical industries, have to be completely reorganized. Above all, green hydrogen, for the production of which green electricity is used, should play a major role in the conversion. Germany is likely to have to import large quantities of hydrogen.
Germany and India also agreed on a partnership agreement on migration from India to Germany. According to the government, this includes both legal migration and cooperation in the return of migrants. It is the first comprehensive mobility and migration agreement that Germany has negotiated with a country of origin, it said. Scholz pointed out the shortage of skilled workers in Germany.
One of four host countries at the G7 summit
India is the second most populous country in the world, the world’s largest democracy and a major economy. Alongside Indonesia, Senegal and South Africa, it is now one of the four countries that Scholz invited to the G7 summit at Schloss Elmau in Bavaria. In addition to Germany, the G7 also includes the USA, France, Great Britain, Italy, Japan and Canada.
At the beginning of January, Germany took over the presidency of the “Group of Seven” for one year. The summit will take place in the Bavarian Alps from 26 to 28 June, chaired by Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD). In addition to the war in Ukraine, the focus will be on climate protection, combating pandemics and strengthening international cooperation and democracies worldwide. “We have to understand democracy as a concern of humanity that unites us and for which we bear responsibility,” said Scholz after his meeting with Modi.
Government consultations are an expression of special relationships with selected partner countries. It has existed with India since 2011. It was the Chancellor’s second detailed exchange with an Asian country within a few days. Last week he had visited Japan. The trip had primarily caused a stir because Scholz, unlike his predecessors Angela Merkel and Gerhard Schröder, had not traveled to China first. The most populous country in the world and the strongest economy in Asia is seen by Germany and other Western countries as a system rival.
Differences on the Ukraine issue
But there are also differences between Germany and India, currently especially in Ukraine politics. India has a neutral stance on Russia’s war of aggression. It does not support Western sanctions and abstains from resolutions in the US Security Council – both against and for Russia.
At the same time, India has recently bought more cheap Russian oil. India has long-standing good relations with Russia – and earlier with the Soviet Union – and the country is heavily dependent on Moscow for its military equipment and related spare parts. However, India also has good relations with the West. Most recently, the country has only strengthened its cooperation with the USA.
After the meeting with Modi, Scholz again appealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin to stop the war in Ukraine, end the “senseless killing” and withdraw troops from Ukraine. Boundaries should not be pushed by force./mfi/DP/nas