Indian PM’s Visit to Germany

[GS Paper 2 – International Affairs, Bilateral Relations]

Context – Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Germany on June 26 and 27 to attend the annual summit of G7, which is likely to be attended by US President Joe Biden, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau among others.

Key Highlights

• During the summit, the Prime Minister is expected to speak in two sessions that include environment, energy, climate, food security, health, gender equality and democracy.

• After attending the G7 Summit, the Prime Minister will be travelling to the United Arab Emirates on June 28 to pay his personal condolences on the passing away of Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the former UAE President and Abu Dhabi Ruler.

• Besides India, countries such as Indonesia, South Africa, Argentina and Senegal have been invited to the summit of the group of seven of the world’s advanced economies, in an effort to strengthen international collaboration on these important issues, the MEA said.

• On the sidelines of the summit, Modi will also hold bilateral meetings with leaders of some of the participating countries.

India-Germany Relations

• India was the first country to end the state of war with Germany in 1951, and therefore was among the first countries to grant the Federal Republic of Germany diplomatic recognition.

• Germany established its Consulate General in Mumbai in 1951, leading to the establishment of a full-fledged Embassy in New Delhi in 1952.

• India and Germany have maintained a ‘Strategic Partnership’ since 2000-01 and In May 2000, both countries adopted the ‘Agenda for the Indo-German Partnership in the 21st Century’, which includes regular meetings of both Heads of Government as well as annual meetings of the Foreign Ministers.

• Germany considers India a pillar of Asian stability and a country that shares European political values (Equality, Liberty, Fraternity and Democratic values).
• Germany is India’s largest trading partner in Europe. Indian exports to Germany focus on the textile sector, followed by chemical products, electrical engineering products, metal and leather goods and foodstuffs.

• In the midst of great power rivalry between US, China and Russia, Germany is looking to diversify its global partnerships beyond the Euro-Atlantic space and seeks to bring India into its larger geopolitical calculus.

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