External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Germany’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Annalena Baerbock exchange documents as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz look on during the signing of agreements between India and Germany at the Hyderabad House, in New Delhi, on Friday (Oct. 25, 2024.
| Photo Credit: PTI

“Young educated Indians are striving to enter the labour market, while in Germany, there is a great need of skilled workers, and it can be turned into a ‘win-win-win’ situation for both the countries and youths,” German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Friday (October 25, 2024).

Ms. Baerbock made the remarks while meeting German learners at the Goethe-Institut/Max Mueller Bhavan in New Delhi earlier in the day.

She is currently in India as part of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s three-day official visit to India that began on Thursday (October 24, 2024).

The German Foreign Minister attended the 7th India-Germany Inter-Governmental Consultations (IGC) on Friday (October 25, 2024).

Federal Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Hubertus Heil also visited the global cultural institute of Germany, the institute said in a statement.

The Ministers held an exchange with the group to hear about their motivations and future plans, and responded to concerns of mutual interest.

In their statements, they emphasised Germany’s commitment to “welcoming talented Indians” into the German workforce across sectors.

“India is an economic heavyweight with breathtaking dynamism — with many young, well-educated people striving to enter the labour market,” Ms. Baerbock was quoted as saying in the statement.

“In Germany, on the other hand, we are in great need of skilled workers. We can turn this into a win-win-win situation, for India, for Germany, but above all for the young people striving to work in Germany. We took the first steps towards this two years ago with the partnership and mobility agreement. And now we have also simplified visa procedures,” she said in her address.

Also read:PM Modi meets German Chancellor Scholz

A joint statement was issued by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) after the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chancellor Scholz co-chaired the seventh round of the IGC meeting.

“As bilateral cooperation on skilled migration expands across multiple fronts, involving collaboration between federal and state governments, as well as private sector stakeholders, both sides committed to full implementation of the provisions of the Migration and Mobility Partnership Agreement (MMPA),” it said.

In line with the commitments outlined in the MMPA both sides remain dedicated to promoting fair and legal labour migration, the statement said.

“This approach is guided by international standards that ensure migrant workers are treated with dignity and respect, including fair recruitment practices, transparent visa processes, and the protection of workers’ rights,” it said.

“The approach can safeguard against exploitation and ensure compliance with international labour standards,” it added.

With the MMPA, both sides also agreed to address irregular migration.

Minister Heil also interacted with Indian students at a partner school of the Goethe-Institut, who are striving to go for vocational training in Germany.

New Delhi:

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz arrived here on Thursday as part of his three-day official visit to India during which he and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will take part in wide-ranging talks on strategic ties in several key areas.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in a post on X said, “Olaf Scholz of Germany lands in New Delhi for the 7th Intergovernmental Consultations and the 18th Asia Pacific Conference of German Business (APK 2024).” The Chancellor, who arrived late Thursday night, was received by Ministry of State Home Affairs Nityanand Rai.

The MEA had in a statement earlier said that Scholz will pay an official visit to India from October 24 to 26 at the invitation of Prime Minister Modi.

The two leaders will hold wide-ranging talks with a focus on boosting bilateral strategic ties, including in the areas of defence, trade, and clean energy.

On Friday, Modi and Scholz will co-chair the seventh Intergovernmental Consultations (IGC).

The IGC is a whole-of-government framework under which ministers from both sides hold discussions in their respective areas of responsibility and report on the outcome of their deliberations to the prime minister and the chancellor.

The IGC is a biannual exercise, and the last one was held in Berlin in May 2022.

In the meeting between Prime Minister Modi and Chancellor Scholz, the German-Indian Green and Sustainable Development Partnership (GSDP) was agreed upon.

At a media interaction at his residence here on Wednesday, Ambassador Philipp Ackermann said the country “will have a big basket of things” to discuss on Friday when the chancellor and the five federal ministers of Germany will be in New Delhi.

The German Cabinet has recently adopted a key document, ‘Focus on India’, aimed at elevating the bilateral relations to the next level, the country’s envoy also said. PTI KND VN VN

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Germany is trying to cultivate India as a source of trade and geopolitical support as its deteriorating relations with China cast a pall over the country’s economic future. Chancellor Olaf Scholz embarks on a three-day visit to India Thursday accompanied by a large delegation of ministers and executives as he seeks to forge a strategic partnership with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The two leaders will meet on Friday morning and chair a joint cabinet meeting. 

The trip comes at a crucial time for Scholz who is struggling to revive the German economy which has been buffeted by the war in Ukraine and competition from China. PM Modi will have just returned from the BRICS summit in Russia where he embraced President Vladimir Putin.

India also just signed a border deal with China to ease tensions with its neighbor after a four-year standoff.

Here are the main issues to watch:

Submarine Contract

India is planning to order six new submarines as part of its strategy to counter China’s expanding naval presence in the Indo-Pacific region and Germany’s Thyssenkrupp AG is bidding for the 400 billion rupee ($4.8 billion) order. German government spokesperson Christiane Hoffmann declined to comment on whether there might be a decision during the visit.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is due to visit India later this month to open an Airbus SE plant in Gujarat and Spain’s Navantia is also competing for the contract.

India has been looking to diversify its supplies of military hardware since Russia, its biggest source of weapons, invaded Ukraine in 2022 and became entangled in a web of Western sanctions. 

Russia and Ukraine

India has maintained its traditionally close ties with the Kremlin all the same and Scholz plans to discuss the war in Ukraine with PM Modi following his talks with Putin and Xi. There have been reports that India is supplying the Russian army with military equipment.

“The chancellor will be very curious about what the prime minister has to say after this meeting,” Germany’s ambassador to India, Philipp Ackermann, said. “India is in a very good position to basically listen to both sides and to have both sides in mind. And we have seen the prime minister going to Kyiv, and we have seen a renewed interest in the conflict.”

China and Trade

The German government has been trying to persuade companies to ease their reliance on trade with China and some people have suggested India, the world’s fifth-largest economy, as a potential alternative. But the country’s close relation with Russia and the fact that it just resolved a yearlong border dispute with Beijing suggests that India isn’t ready to go all in as a strategic partner for Germany.  

Germany is already India’s largest trading partner in Europe and the seventh-largest worldwide. Bilateral trade was $22 billion in 2020-21, according to the Indian government. 

Scholz is also likely to seek help in navigating the obstacles that small and medium-sized German firms face when doing business in India. More than 60% of German businesses cited bureaucratic hurdles – such as protectionist measures and procurement rules – as the biggest drawback to operating in the country, according to a survey from the Indo-German Chamber of Commerce released in June.

On Saturday, Scholz will continue his trip to the port city of Vasco da Gama, where he’ll visit two German navy ships which recently passed the Strait of Taiwan for the first time in 22 years in defiance of Chinese warnings.

Help Wanted

Germany’s workforce is set to shrink by 7 million people over the next decade due to an aging population unless the government can attract an influx of skilled migrants. Labor shortages this year are already costing the economy almost $54 billion), according to the German Economic Institute. In an attempt to reverse this trend, Scholz’s government has eased immigration laws for skilled workers.

“Germany views India as an especially important partner when it comes to the issue of skilled labor migration,” said Labor Minister Hubertus Heil, who will be part of the delegation. 

That’s a potential win-win for the two leaders, since PM Modi is under pressure to create more jobs for young people, who make up more than half of the country’s 1.4 billion population. His government has already negotiated several mobility agreements with other countries facing aging societies. 

There are currently 137,000 Indians employed in Germany in total and the country needs about 400,000 migrant workers per year to keep its workforce stable, according to government calculations.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Germany is trying to cultivate India as a source of trade and geopolitical support as its deteriorating relations with China cast a pall over the country’s economic future. Chancellor Olaf Scholz embarks on a three-day visit to India Thursday accompanied by a large delegation of ministers and executives as he seeks to forge a strategic partnership with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The two leaders will meet on Friday morning and chair a joint cabinet meeting. 

The trip comes at a crucial time for Scholz who is struggling to revive the German economy which has been buffeted by the war in Ukraine and competition from China. PM Modi will have just returned from the BRICS summit in Russia where he embraced President Vladimir Putin.

India also just signed a border deal with China to ease tensions with its neighbor after a four-year standoff.

Here are the main issues to watch:

Submarine Contract

India is planning to order six new submarines as part of its strategy to counter China’s expanding naval presence in the Indo-Pacific region and Germany’s Thyssenkrupp AG is bidding for the 400 billion rupee ($4.8 billion) order. German government spokesperson Christiane Hoffmann declined to comment on whether there might be a decision during the visit.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is due to visit India later this month to open an Airbus SE plant in Gujarat and Spain’s Navantia is also competing for the contract.

India has been looking to diversify its supplies of military hardware since Russia, its biggest source of weapons, invaded Ukraine in 2022 and became entangled in a web of Western sanctions. 

Russia and Ukraine

India has maintained its traditionally close ties with the Kremlin all the same and Scholz plans to discuss the war in Ukraine with PM Modi following his talks with Putin and Xi. There have been reports that India is supplying the Russian army with military equipment.

“The chancellor will be very curious about what the prime minister has to say after this meeting,” Germany’s ambassador to India, Philipp Ackermann, said. “India is in a very good position to basically listen to both sides and to have both sides in mind. And we have seen the prime minister going to Kyiv, and we have seen a renewed interest in the conflict.”

China and Trade

The German government has been trying to persuade companies to ease their reliance on trade with China and some people have suggested India, the world’s fifth-largest economy, as a potential alternative. But the country’s close relation with Russia and the fact that it just resolved a yearlong border dispute with Beijing suggests that India isn’t ready to go all in as a strategic partner for Germany.  

Germany is already India’s largest trading partner in Europe and the seventh-largest worldwide. Bilateral trade was $22 billion in 2020-21, according to the Indian government. 

Scholz is also likely to seek help in navigating the obstacles that small and medium-sized German firms face when doing business in India. More than 60% of German businesses cited bureaucratic hurdles – such as protectionist measures and procurement rules – as the biggest drawback to operating in the country, according to a survey from the Indo-German Chamber of Commerce released in June.

On Saturday, Scholz will continue his trip to the port city of Vasco da Gama, where he’ll visit two German navy ships which recently passed the Strait of Taiwan for the first time in 22 years in defiance of Chinese warnings.

Help Wanted

Germany’s workforce is set to shrink by 7 million people over the next decade due to an aging population unless the government can attract an influx of skilled migrants. Labor shortages this year are already costing the economy almost $54 billion), according to the German Economic Institute. In an attempt to reverse this trend, Scholz’s government has eased immigration laws for skilled workers.

“Germany views India as an especially important partner when it comes to the issue of skilled labor migration,” said Labor Minister Hubertus Heil, who will be part of the delegation. 

That’s a potential win-win for the two leaders, since PM Modi is under pressure to create more jobs for young people, who make up more than half of the country’s 1.4 billion population. His government has already negotiated several mobility agreements with other countries facing aging societies. 

There are currently 137,000 Indians employed in Germany in total and the country needs about 400,000 migrant workers per year to keep its workforce stable, according to government calculations.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)