Modi to visit Germany for Inter-Governmental Consultations
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Germany today.
This is Modi’s first bilateral meeting with his counterpart, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. The new German chancellor has emphasized his desire to strengthen Indo-Pacific ties and identified India as a key partner, in particular for green infrastructure projects. In their previous bilateral, Germany and India agreed on a $1.05 billion sustainable transport project. Modi also has strategic interests for the meeting, as he desires Germany’s support for an India-EU free trade agreement (FTA). The FTA talks were put on hold in 2014 due to clashes over environmental and labor standards.
India has remained neutral on the Russian invasion of Ukraine thus far. While New Delhi has called for de-escalation of the conflict, it has maintained economic ties with Moscow, recently suggesting a rupee-ruble transaction system to counteract Russia’s SWIFT ban.
Modi is expected to attempt to justify his stance on Russia during the meeting. As India’s largest EU trading partner, Germany will likely offer support for the FTA. In the longer term, expect strong partnership between India and Germany on green technology, as both look to become leaders in the field.
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