Onboard FGS Baden-Wurttemberg was an experience of a rare kind. To be on the frigate that docked in Mormugao port in Goa, as part of its Indo-Pacific deployment, after traversing the globe from Germany to India was a unique moment for me in myriad ways.
The ship’s port call was part of a series of events undertaken by Germany to boost its ties with India. In a way, it was emblematic of both subnational diplomacy as witnessed with the evolving Goa-Germany relations and strengthening of the India-Germany bilateral relations. Spearheading the events was German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in his third visit to India in two years. Unlike the last visit in February 2023, which didn’t translate into much movement in the bilateral ties, Scholz’s latest three-day official visit between October 24-26, at the invitation of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was an opportunity to engage with each other at their seventh intergovernmental consultations, a biannual meeting format that allows various ministries of both countries to explore new areas of cooperation.
The countries have had a strategic partnership agreement since 2000. India is particularly important in Germany’s Indo-Pacific outlook. The German Cabinet on October 16 adopted the “Focus on India” document, aimed at elevating bilateral relations to the next level. Beneath such attempts, however, are two push factors: Germany’s weakening economy and its worsening ties with China. Strong trade relations with India, either bilaterally or through the proposed India-Europe Free Trade Treaty, are crucial for Germany’s economic future.
At the heart of such concerted efforts by Germany is also an attractive low-hanging fruit: India’s plan to acquire six new submarines equipped with air-independent propulsion (AIP) systems at the cost of $4.8 billion to boost its naval presence in the Indo-Pacific. Germany’s Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems is in the fray.
India’s attempts to diversify its military hardware imports have attracted many interested nations. Shortly after Scholz’s visit, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez visited India to inaugurate the Tata Advanced System Limited-Airbus facility to manufacture C-295 military aircraft in India. Following the plant event in Gujarat state on October 28, Modi held a roadshow with him in Vadodara, a rare gesture he reserves only for a few dignitaries or to highlight a major project.
Spain’s Navantia is also competing for the submarine contract.
Compared to other European countries like France, from which India has made several important military purchases, Berlin has lagged way behind. With the “Zeitenwende” announced by Scholz in the aftermath of the Ukraine crisis, Germany will need to step up to the plate both in its defense relations with India and as a serious player in the Indo-Pacific. The Indo-Pacific guidelines needs concerted direction and teeth to demonstrate Germany’s capacity and intent as a power to reckon with.
The groundwork for the soft power of strong Indo-German bilateral relations has already been laid. Germany’s universities and educational institutions host over 50,000 Indian students, more than any other country’s foreign student population in Germany. Saravana Bhavan, a popular South Indian vegetarian eatery, has five of its 10 overseas branches in German cities and was one of my favorite haunts during my time in Germany. Several Bollywood movies, including one by top star Shahrukh Khan, have been filmed in Germany.
However, a solid and more consequential economic and strategic superstructure is yet to be built on this foundation. Inflexible attitudes, inconclusive negotiations, lack of cultural understanding, bureaucratic red tape, and evolving geopolitics are key impediments.
In the past, New Delhi’s “Make in India, Make for the World” initiative, which insists on technology transfer and that manufacturing units be set up in India, has been a bone of contention. India and Germany don’t share a similar geopolitical outlook on the conflicts in Ukraine and possibly also in Gaza.
With delivered and pledged assistance worth 28 billion euros, Germany is behind only the United States in providing military aid to Ukraine. Differences were reportedly voiced by Modi and Scholz on the Ukraine issue during their meeting. A couple of days before Scholz’s visit, Modi returned from the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia. India and Russia share strong friendly relations, something that Germany has found hard to understand.
While sharing close strategic and military ties with Israel, New Delhi favors a two-state solution on the Palestine issue. It is also close to Tehran. Germany shares the vision for a negotiated two-state solution too, but its support for Israel is firm and less ambivalent.
Worsening ties with China may no longer be a common factor between India and Germany. In Kazan, on October 23, Modi met Chinese leader Xi Jinping for a bilateral summit a day after the two countries announced a promising patrolling agreement, which marks progress toward ending the standoff between their militaries along the contested boundary.
Such differences in geopolitical outlook, however, can coexist with a deepened transactional relationship, a principle that India has pushed the world to accept in the past years. German capacities in the realm of defense, technology, energy, green and sustainable development and newer areas like AI, semiconductors, and clean energy can be instrumental in achieving the transformational aspirations of both the countries. While India is browsing through a vast market for potential deals, it would be important for Berlin to pose as an attractive seller. The countries signed 27 new cooperation agreements during the German chancellor’s visit.
India and Germany can become important poles of the new world order if they can channel their vision and build synergies in bilateral and multilateral forums. Intent needs to be translated into outcomes. While in Germany as a visiting fellow at SWP, I worked with my German colleagues to identify common areas for building cooperation and minimizing differences. The “Focus on India” document touches upon a gamut of issues of cooperation my paper brought out. These include “foreign and security policy, development cooperation, climate and environmental protection, expansion of business and trade relations, intensification of cooperation in the field of research and academia, and recruitment of skilled labor.”
While the broad strategy could be intensifying the engagement on these issues, which are important to India, the key would be to take New Delhi’s strategic vision and geopolitical compulsions into account as both countries straddle a path of transformational relationship and stronger partnership in the Indo-Pacific.