German Chancellor Olaf Schulz in New Delhi on a visit to India
It is expected that the German Chancellor’s visit to India will further expand the overall bilateral relations between the two countries in several important areas including new technology, clean energy, trade and investment.
German Chancellor Olaf Schulz arrived in New Delhi this morning and held a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. According to reports, they discussed several important issues such as the Ukraine conflict, the situation in the Indo-Pacific region and ways to promote bilateral relations.
 The visit is also significant in the sense that February 24 marks one year of the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine. Analysts say that Scholz’s visit is an indication that Berlin understands the importance of New Delhi in its strategic calculus.
The German Embassy in New Delhi shared a tweet from Chancellor Olaf Schulz, which said, “I was welcomed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the sunshine of New Delhi. This is our 4th meeting. Very good relations between India and Germany.” And we want to make them stronger. That, and peace in the world, will be the main topic of our discussions.”
What issues were discussed?
This is Olaf Schulz’s first visit to India after becoming German Chancellor in December 2021. According to reports, the two leaders also focused on promoting cooperation in the areas of trade, defence, clean energy, climate change and new technologies during the talks.
Addressing a joint conference after the talks, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that, along with many other issues, the two countries have agreed to further cooperate in security and strategic matters.
He said the two countries also agreed that “cross-border terrorist activities must stop.” Modi said that India has been saying that all conflicts should be resolved through dialogue and “We are ready to play our part in the Ukraine conflict as much as we can for dialogue.”
Chancellor Olaf Schulz said that around 1,800 German companies are operating in India and have provided jobs to thousands of people. He further said that Germany also wants to benefit from Indian capabilities.
He said, “We need talent and capacity, we need skilled workers. IT and software development is booming in India and there are many competent companies. India has a lot of talent and we are looking for it. Corporation wants to leverage. We want to attract this talent to recruit in Germany as well.”
During the conversation, the two leaders also reviewed the overall situation in the Indo-Pacific. The Indo-Pacific is one region that has seen increased Chinese activity over the past few years.
It should be noted that Olaf Scholes also visited Beijing last November and met President Xi Jinping. He was accompanied by a high-level delegation of important German businessmen to Beijing.
Modi and Sholes also held bilateral talks on November 16 last year on the sidelines of the G20 summit in the resort city of Bali, Indonesia.
The first meeting between the two leaders took place during Modi’s visit to Berlin on May 2 last year, when Modi visited Berlin to attend the sixth Indo-German Inter-Governmental Consultation.