Indo German Relations

India-Germany Relations 

1. Bilateral relations between India and Germany are founded on common democratic principles and are marked by a high degree of trust and mutual respect. India was amongst the first countries to establish diplomatic ties with the Federal Republic of Germany after the Second World War. Relations grew significantly following the end of the Cold War and the reunification of Germany. In the last decade, both economic and political interaction between India and Germany has enhanced. Today, Germany is amongst India's most important partners both bilaterally and in the global context.

2. India and Germany have a 'Strategic Partnership' since 2001, which has been further strengthened with the mechanism of Intergovernmental Consultations (IGC) between the two Governments which allows for a comprehensive review of cooperation and a platform to identify fresh areas of engagement. The 2nd IGC was held in Berlin in March 2013 and the 3rd IGC is scheduled to be held in India in October 2015.

3. There have been regular high-level visits from both sides, including at the highest level. Chancellor Merkel visited India in 2007 and again in 2011 for the first IGC. Former PM Dr. Manmohan Singh visited Germany in 2006, 2010 and 2013. German President Joachim Gauck paid a State visit to India in February 2014. Hon'ble PM Shri Narendra Modi paid an official visit to Germany on April 12-14, 2015 on the occasion of participation of India as Partner Country in the Hannover Messe-2015. PM had bilateral meetings with Chancellor Angela Merkel, Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel and Foreign Minister Dr. Steinmeier during the visit. Hon'ble External Affairs Minister Smt. Sushma Swaraj also paid official visit to Germany on August 25-27, 2015 during which she called on President of the German Parliament and had meetings with German Foreign Minister, Minister of Education & Research and Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the German Parliament.

4.   Among other important visits, Minister of Communications and IT Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad visited Germany in September 2014. Minister of Environment, Forests and Climate Change Shri Prakash Javadekar visited Germany in May 2015 to attend the 6th Petersburg Climate Dialogue in Berlin. Important visits from the German side include that of German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier (September 2014), Finance Minister Dr. Wolfgang Schauble (January 2015), Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks (January 2015) and Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen (May 2015).

5. The two countries have several institutionalized arrangements to discuss bilateral and global issues of interest viz. Joint Commission on Industrial and Economic Cooperation, Foreign Office Consultations, High Technology Partnership Group (HTPG), High Defence Committee, Indo-German Energy Forum, Indo-German Environment Forum, India-Germany Committee on S&T and Joint Working Groups (JWG) on various fields, including skills development, automotive, agriculture, coal, tourism, water, waste management, etc. Last round of Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) was held in New Delhi in October 2014. 2nd meeting of HTPG is taking place in New Delhi on September 14-15, 2015.

6. Germany and India cooperate closely on the issue of UNSC expansion within the framework of G-4. The G-4 Director Generals met in Berlin on February 27, 2015. Both countries consult each other in G-20 on global issues such climate change, sustainable development, etc. There have been consultations between the two countries on regional and international issues such as UN issues, International Cyber Issues, Disarmament & Non-proliferation, Export Controls, East Asia, Eurasia, etc.

7. As regards Parliamentary exchanges, the Indo-German Parliamentary Friendship Group, which was established in German Bundestag in 1971, has contributed immensely to strengthening links between the two Parliaments. A 16-member Germany-India Parliamentary Group (GIPG) has been constituted in the 18th Bundestag under the Chairmanship of Mr. Ralph Brinkhaus, an MP from the CDU.A delegation of German MPs from the Group, led by Mr. Brinkhaus, visited India in February 2015. Vice President of the Bundestag Ms. Claudia Roth visited India in March 2015. A group of young MPs from India visited Germany in September 2015. Several other Parliamentarians from both sides have exchanged visits in recent times.

8. India-Germany Defence Cooperation Agreement (2006) provides a framework for bilateral defence cooperation. The High Defence Committee (HDC) meetings at the Defence Secretary level take place annually, alternately in New Delhi and Berlin. The 7thHDC Meeting was held in New Delhi in July 2014 for which Mr.Wolfgang Brauksiepe, State Secretary in the German Ministry of Defence, visited India. Chief of Naval Staff Admiral R. K. Dhowan paid an official visit to Germany in the same month. Both sides have had detailed discussion on defence cooperation during the recent visit of German Defence Minister to India in May 2015.

9. Some of the States and Cities of both countries have entered into twinning arrangements. For example, Karnataka and Bavaria (Germany) have Sister States arrangement since 2007. Similarly, Mumbai and Stuttgart (Germany) are sister cities since 1968. In January 2015, Maharashtra and Baden-Wurttemberg (Germany) have signed an MoU to establish a Sister State relationship.
Economic & Commercial Relations

10. Germany is India's largest trading partner in Europe. Germany has consistently been among India's top ten global trade partners. India was ranked 25thin Germany's global trade during 2014 accounting for about 1% of total German trade. Bilateral trade in 2014 was valued at €15.96 billion. Apart from traditional sectors, knowledge-driven sectors hold good potential for collaboration. There is considerable scope for co-operation in the fields of IT, biotechnology, renewable energy, green technology, urban mobility & development and the entertainment industry. 
Indo-German Bilateral Trade (in € Billion)

	2012	2013	2014	2015            (Jan-June)
Total Trade	17.37	16.10	15.96	8.82
Indian Exports	6.99	6.91	7.03	3.91
Indian Imports	10.38	9.19	8.92	4.91
Balance of Trade	-3.39	-2.28	-1.89	-1.0
Major Indian Exports to Germany	Textiles, Metal & Metal Products, Electro Technology, Leather & Leather Goods, Food & Beverages, Machinery, Pharmaceuticals, Auto Components, Chemicals, Gems & Jewellery and Rubber Products
Major Indian Imports from Germany	Machinery, Electro Technology, Metal & Metal Products, Chemicals, Auto Components, Measurement & Control Equipment, Plastics, Medical Technology, Pharmaceuticals, Paper & Printing Materials

(Source: Federal Statistical Office, Wiesbaden)
11. Germany is the 8th largest foreign direct investor in India since January 2000. German FDI in India in 2014 was to the tune of US$ 1.15 billion. Germany's total FDI in India from August 1991 until March 2015 amounted to US$ 8.31 billion. There are more than 1600 Indo-German collaborations and over 600 Indo-German Joint Ventures in operation.

12. Concrete German commercial association with India began as early as in 1870 when the first telegraph line between London and Kolkata (about 11,000 km) was laid by Siemens. At present, German investments in India is mainly in the sectors of transportation, electrical equipment, metallurgical industries, services sector (particularly insurance), chemicals, construction activity, trading and automobiles. Most of the major German companies have already entered the Indian market. German automobile giants such as Daimler, Volkswagen, BMW, and Audi have established manufacturing facilities/assembly plants in India. Other major German companies that have significant operations in India include Siemens, ThyssenKrupp, Bosch, Bayer, BASF, SAP, Deutsche Bank, Metro, Lufthansa, Merck, Munich Re etc. Besides large companies, German Medium Sized Enterprises (Mittelstand) are also showing greater interest in India.

13. Indian investments in Germany have also shown a remarkable increase in the last few years. Indian corporate entities have invested over US$ 6 billion in Germany. There are more than 200 Indian companies operating in Germany. Sectors of IT, automotive, pharma and biotech have received a chunk of Indian Investments. The penetration of Indian software companies in German market is growing and major Indian software providers like Infosys, WIPRO and TCS have operations in Germany. Companies like Bharat Forge Limited, Ranbaxy, Piramal, Samtel, Hexaware Technologies, NIIT, Graphite India Limited, Hinduja Group, Dr. Reddy's laboratories, Biocon, Hindustan National Glass, Mahindra and others have either acquired German companies or started their own subsidiaries.

14. Science & Technology: Indo-German Science & Technology cooperation started with the signing of the Intergovernmental S&T Cooperation Agreement in 1971 and 1974. Today, Germany is one of the most important global partners for S&T cooperation. Presently, there are more than 150 joint S&T research projects and 70 direct partnerships between the Universities of both countries. India's scientific establishments have close partnerships with premier German R&D institutions, including the Max Planck Society, Fraunhofer Laboratories and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. The jointly funded Indo-German Science & Technology Centre was set up in 2008 in Gurgaon with an annual contribution of €1 million from each side which is now doubled to €2 million per year by each side with the Centre being extended upto 2017.  India has invested in major science projects in Germany such as the Facility for Anti-Proton and Ion Research (FAIR) at Darmstadt and the Deutsche Elektronen Synchrotron (DESY) for experiments in advanced materials and particle physics.

15. Development Cooperation: Germany has also been an important development cooperation partner for several decades. Total bilateral Technical and Financial Cooperation since cooperation began in 1958 amounts to € 12 billion. Energy, sustainable economic development and environment & management of natural resources are priority areas under development cooperation. Financial Assistance from Germany has been provided mainly as soft loan, composite loans as well as grants routed through KfW, the German Government's Development Bank. The technical assistance is provided through the GIZ- the development agency of German Government.

16. Culture: India and Germany have a long tradition of academic and cultural exchanges. German scholarly tradition has played a key role in introducing Indian art, culture, literature and philosophy to the wider world. Max Mueller was the first scholar of Indo-European languages who translated and published Upanishads and Rigveda. There has been growing interest in Indian dance, music and literature as well as motion picture and TV industry, in particular Bollywood. Indian films and artists are regular feature not only at the reputable Berlin International Film Festival but also at other festivals all over Germany. Bollywood films find regular release here and dubbed versions are telecast on television networks. Indian cuisines are very popular in Germany. The Indo-German Society is engaged in promoting inter-cultural understanding by bringing together people of both countries and conveying information about modern India to the German public.

17. German interest in the Indian philosophy and languages resulted in first Chair of Indology at the University of Bonn in 1818. The Government of India has funded several rotating chairs of Indian studies in German Universities. There have been 29 rotating chairs in various German universities till date. In addition, ICCR supports both long-term and short-term Chairs of Indian studies in Germany. A long-term Chair named Heinrich-Zimmer Chair of Indian Philosophy & Intellectual History has been set up at South Asia Institute, Heidelberg University since May 2010. In 2015, ICCR set up two short-term Chairs in Germany: at Humboldt University, Berlin and at University of Leipzig. Dr. Annette Schmiedchen, a Sanskrit Scholar and Indologist from Germany received Padma Shri for 2015.

18. Approximately 10,000 Indian students are pursuing various courses in Germany, while around 800 German students are studying or doing their internships in India. Many Indian students are opting for Engineering and Management courses in German Universities. The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) facilitates joint research, training and exchange of young scientists/research scholars. In addition, Central Council for Research in Ayurveda and Siddha is supporting research in Ayurveda by Charite Medical University, Berlin on Osteoarthritis of the knee, which is the first systematic clinical trial for use of Ayurveda in Europe.

19. There are about 143,000 [Federal Government Statistics] people of Indian origin in Germany including both German and Indian Passport holders. The Indian diaspora mainly comprises of professionals, technocrats, businessmen/traders and nurses. There has been an increase in the last few years in the number of qualified Indian professionals in the fields of IT, banking, finance, etc. There are a number of Indian organizations and associations active on the business/cultural front, cementing ties between India and Germany at the people-to-people level.