Facts:
- Germany is India’s Sixth Largest trading partner.
- Largest trading partner in EU.
Basics of relationship:
- Germany is a natural ally of India. It has surplus capital, modern technology and a demographic deficit. India has a deficit of finance and technology but surplus human capital.
How Germany-India working together:
- India and Germany both support each other’s candidature for a permanent seat in a reformed UN Security Council. The G4 nations comprising Brazil, Germany, India, and Japan are supporting each other’s candidature for a permanent seat in a reformed UN Security Council.
- Germany announced 1 billion Euro towards solar energy and a like sum for clean energy.
- Germany can help in finalizing India-EU FTA
- Signed an agreement on Ganga Rejuvenation
- Germany supports India’s entry in Nuclear Suppliers Group(NSG)
- India and Germany together has also vowed to counter the challenges posed by those who encourage, support and finance terrorism. They also called for the earlier adoption of Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism.
Analysis:
Post WW2 Germany choose to shy away from geo-politics (like Japan) and focused on strengthening Geo-economic power. Germany (and Japan) have tried to leverage their geo-economic power to recover geo-political influence in their vicinity. India is pursuing a more aggressive developmental agenda, giving greater importance to geo-economic over geo-politics. By assisting India in its immediate goals, Germany and Japan have the opportunity to bolster their own rise in geo-political terms.