Boosting trade ties to be focus of German Chancellor Merz’s India visit next week

New Delhi: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will undertake a two-day visit to India next week that is expected to focus on shoring up bilateral cooperation in a range of areas, including trade, investment, defence and technology.

Merz’s first trip to India as the chancellor from January 12-13 is taking place as New Delhi focuses on boosting its overall economic engagement with Europe against the backdrop of Washington’s punitive tariff on Indian goods.

The German leader will arrive in Ahmedabad on January 12. He will travel to Bengaluru after concluding his engagements in Ahmedabad, including talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“The prime minister will receive Chancellor Merz on January 12 in Ahmedabad. The two leaders will take stock of the progress made in diverse aspects of the India-Germany Strategic Partnership, which completed 25 years last year,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Monday.

“The discussion will also focus on further intensifying cooperation in trade and investment, technology, education, skilling and mobility, while also advancing collaboration in important domains of defence and security, science, innovation and research, green and sustainable development, and people-to-people relations,” it said.

The German Chancellor’s visit to India is taking place days before top leaders of the European Union arrive in Delhi for finalising the much-awaited India-EU free trade agreement.

India will host French President Emmanuel Macron next month. Macron is visiting India to participate in the AI Summit.

The MEA said Prime Minister Modi and Chancellor Merz will also engage with business and industry leaders and exchange views on issues of regional and global importance.

“The visit will build on the momentum generated by regular interactions at the highest political level,” it said.

“It will provide a valuable opportunity to reaffirm the shared vision of India and Germany to build a forward-looking partnership for the benefit of the people of both countries and the wider global community,” the MEA said in a statement.

People familiar with Merz’s visit to India said boosting trade and investment ties will be a major focus area of the German leader’s trip.

The talks between Modi and Merz will be held under the framework of India-Germany Inter-Governmental Consultations.

The German chancellor is visiting India amid a fractious geopolitical environment, including the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the US capturing Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro.

It is expected that the Russia-Ukraine conflict may figure prominently in Modi-Merz talks.

The two leaders may also review progress in bilateral cooperation in the area of clean energy.

In 2024, the two sides launched the Indo-German green hydrogen roadmap that was aimed at supporting India’s ambition for production, usage and export of green hydrogen.