NEW DELHI: India and Germany on Monday finalised 19 agreements and announced a series of measures spanning defence, critical technologies, clean energy, education and mobility during German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s two-day official visit, with Berlin also announcing visa-free transit for Indian passport holders. The ministry of external affairs said the outcomes were aimed at deepening cooperation across strategic, economic and people-to-people pillars of the bilateral partnership. In a major move to ease travel Germany announced visa-free transit for Indian nationals passing through its airports. PM Modi thanked chancellor Merz for the announcement, which will not only facilitate and ease travel of Indian nationals, but will further intensify people to people links.Among the key outcomes was a ‘Joint Declaration of Intent’ to strengthen defence industrial cooperation. Addressing the India-Germany CEOs Forum, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “This will provide clear policy support to our companies for co-innovation and co-production in defence. New opportunities for cooperation will also open up in the space sector.”To reinforce economic engagement, the two sides decided to integrate a newly established CEO Forum into the joint India-Germany economic and investment committee framework.In the area of critical and emerging technologies, India and Germany signed declarations of intent covering semiconductor ecosystem development, cooperation on critical minerals, and collaboration in telecommunications, the MEA said.Energy and sustainability featured prominently in the agreements. An offtake agreement was signed between India’s AM Green and Germany’s Uniper Global Commodities for the supply of green ammonia. In addition, India’s Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board signed an MoU with the German Technical and Scientific Association for Gas and Water Industries (DVGW) to cooperate on renewable energy.On education, skilling and mobility, the two sides adopted a higher education roadmap and concluded additional agreements, including the setting up of a National Centre of Excellence for Skilling in Renewable Energy at the National Skill Training Institute in Hyderabad. The MEA said India and Germany agreed to establish a Track 1.5 foreign policy and security dialogue, along with a bilateral dialogue mechanism focused on the Indo-Pacific.On climate finance, Germany committed an additional €1.24 billion under the green and sustainable development partnership for projects covering renewable energy, green hydrogen, the PM e-Bus Sewa programme and climate-resilient urban infrastructure. The Prime Minister’s Office said Germany had earlier committed €10 billion under the partnership for 2030, largely through concessional loans, with around €5 billion already utilised or earmarked since 2022.The MEA also said a battery storage working group has been launched under the India-Germany Platform for Investments in Renewable Energy Worldwide.
About the Author
