India
‘Europe important strategic region, Germany one of our most important partners’: PM Modi | India News – Times of India
He also called Germany one of India’s most important partners. Prime Minister Modi’s comments came while addressing the News9 Global summit.
“The theme of this summit is India-Germany: A Roadmap for Sustainable Growth. This theme symbolizes the responsible partnership of both countries,” the Prime Minister said.
He added: “Europe is an important strategic region for India, both in terms of geopolitical relations and trade and investment, and Germany is one of our most important partners. The Indo-German strategic partnership completed 25 years in 2024 and this year was historic and special for this partnership.”
Speaking about German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s visit to India in October, he said: “Last month, Chancellor Olaf Scholz during his third visit to India. After twelve years, the Asia-Pacific Conference of German Businesses was organized in Delhi. During the Asia-Pacific Conference of German Companies, Germany released the Focus on India document. In addition, the Skill Labor Strategy for India was also released. This is the first country-specific strategy that Germany has released.”
Prime Minister Modi praised India’s economic growth and said that every country in the world aspires to work with India as India is the fastest growing economy.
“Today, India is the fastest growing economy in the world. Every country in the world wants to work with India for development. The German Focus on India document is a good example of this. This document shows how today the entire world recognizes the strategic importance of India,” Prime Minister Modi said.
Elaborating on the partnership between the two countries, Prime Minister Modi said that there are over 1,800 German companies operating in India and the companies have invested $15 billion in recent years.
Prime Minister Modi said, “Over the past few years, the mutual partnership between India and Germany has been continuously strengthened. More than 1,800 German companies are active in India. These companies have invested $15 billion over the past three to four years. Bilateral trade An amount of 34 billion dollars takes place between the two countries. I am confident that trade will increase as the partnership between India and Germany has been continuously strengthened in recent years.”
Notably, Germany is India’s largest trading partner in Europe. According to the Embassy of India in Berlin, Germany, it has consistently ranked among India’s top ten global partners and was the seventh largest trading partner in FY 2020-21 (10th during FY 2021-22 through October 2021).
In the 2021-2022 period (till October 2021), bilateral trade stood at $13.83 billion, an increase of 16 percent over the corresponding period in the 2020-21 financial year. India’s exports at USD 5.4 billion witnessed an increase of around 27 percent during this period and Indian imports at USD 8.4 billion recorded an increase of 10 percent.