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PM Modi and German Chancellor Scholz held extensive discussions on the current situation in the Indo-Pacific region
India and Germany, during Olaf Scholz’s maiden visit to India as a Chancellor, held detailed talks on the regional and global situation, including challenges and opportunities in the Indo-Pacific region, Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra said during his special press briefing on Saturday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz “talked at extensive length about the regional and global situation, and naturally, when they talk of regional situations, the opportunities and challenges in the Indo-Pacific form a very important constituent of it,” Foreign Secretary Kwatra said.
In that context, the Foreign Secretary said, both India and Germany also “discussed cooperation between the two sides to mitigate challenges and harness opportunities in the Indo-Pacific region.”
For the first time in 20 years, Germany had deployed a frigate in the Indo-Pacific region in 2021, while the German Air Force participated in Australia-led Pitch Black joint military exercise in the region in August 2022. Besides Germany, 16 other countries, including the US, the UK and Japan had participated in the Pitch-Black joint military exercise in the region.
In an interview with the Times of India on February 24, (a day before his arrival in India) Chancellor Olaf Scholz maintained that “Germany will continue such deployments, showing military presence in the region and teaming up with like-minded partners such as India in various different formats.”
Earlier, with regard to defence talks between India and Germany, the Foreign Secretary told the media persons that “it was a multi-pronged, multi-layered” discussion on defence.
“A large part of it focuses on what the industry and businesses on the two sides can do. Again, part of it is related to what can be manufactured in India. Part of it also includes what can be co-designed here,” Kwatra said.
The Foreign Secretary said the two sides also talked about harnessing the opportunities that are available “in the manufacturing, in the engineering ecosystem in India.” At the same time, during the bilateral talks between the two leaders, as per Foreign Secretary Kwatra, India spoke about “the importance to liberalise the export control system in Germany in order to strengthen the defence cooperation” between the two sides.
On Saturday, Prime Minister Modi in his press statement after talks with the visiting German Chancellor, said: “Security and defence cooperation can become an important pillar of our strategic partnership. Together we will continue to make efforts to fully realize our untapped potential in this area. In the fight against terrorism and separatism, there is active cooperation between India and Germany. Both the countries also agree that concerted action is necessary to end cross-border terrorism.”
This was Olaf Scholz’s first visit to India since assuming office as the German Chancellor and he arrived in the South Asian country in less than three months after Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock’s visit on December 5-6, 2022.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chancellor Scholz met thrice in 2022. They met during the 6th India-Germany Intergovernmental Consultations when PM Modi visited Berlin on May 2, 2022. The Indian Prime Minister headed a delegation which included Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.
The second meeting took place when Chancellor Scholz invited Prime Minister Modi for the G7 Summit held under the German Presidency in Schloss Elmau, Bavaria, in June 2022. India was a partner country for the Summit. Additionally, the two leaders also interacted on the sidelines of the G20 Summit held in Bali in November 2022.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz “talked at extensive length about the regional and global situation, and naturally, when they talk of regional situations, the opportunities and challenges in the Indo-Pacific form a very important constituent of it,” Foreign Secretary Kwatra said.
In that context, the Foreign Secretary said, both India and Germany also “discussed cooperation between the two sides to mitigate challenges and harness opportunities in the Indo-Pacific region.”
For the first time in 20 years, Germany had deployed a frigate in the Indo-Pacific region in 2021, while the German Air Force participated in Australia-led Pitch Black joint military exercise in the region in August 2022. Besides Germany, 16 other countries, including the US, the UK and Japan had participated in the Pitch-Black joint military exercise in the region.
In an interview with the Times of India on February 24, (a day before his arrival in India) Chancellor Olaf Scholz maintained that “Germany will continue such deployments, showing military presence in the region and teaming up with like-minded partners such as India in various different formats.”
Earlier, with regard to defence talks between India and Germany, the Foreign Secretary told the media persons that “it was a multi-pronged, multi-layered” discussion on defence.
“A large part of it focuses on what the industry and businesses on the two sides can do. Again, part of it is related to what can be manufactured in India. Part of it also includes what can be co-designed here,” Kwatra said.
The Foreign Secretary said the two sides also talked about harnessing the opportunities that are available “in the manufacturing, in the engineering ecosystem in India.” At the same time, during the bilateral talks between the two leaders, as per Foreign Secretary Kwatra, India spoke about “the importance to liberalise the export control system in Germany in order to strengthen the defence cooperation” between the two sides.
On Saturday, Prime Minister Modi in his press statement after talks with the visiting German Chancellor, said: “Security and defence cooperation can become an important pillar of our strategic partnership. Together we will continue to make efforts to fully realize our untapped potential in this area. In the fight against terrorism and separatism, there is active cooperation between India and Germany. Both the countries also agree that concerted action is necessary to end cross-border terrorism.”
This was Olaf Scholz’s first visit to India since assuming office as the German Chancellor and he arrived in the South Asian country in less than three months after Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock’s visit on December 5-6, 2022.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chancellor Scholz met thrice in 2022. They met during the 6th India-Germany Intergovernmental Consultations when PM Modi visited Berlin on May 2, 2022. The Indian Prime Minister headed a delegation which included Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.
The second meeting took place when Chancellor Scholz invited Prime Minister Modi for the G7 Summit held under the German Presidency in Schloss Elmau, Bavaria, in June 2022. India was a partner country for the Summit. Additionally, the two leaders also interacted on the sidelines of the G20 Summit held in Bali in November 2022.
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