Germany Aims to Create Greater Sync with India

A three-day visit to India by German Minister for Foreign Affairs and Vice Chancellor Guido Westerwelle is believe to rev up Indo-German ties beyond trade as both nurse the goal of becoming the UN Security Council (UNSC) permanent members. It should be recalled both nations recently got elected as non-permanent members to the Security Council.

Westerwelle arrived at New Delhi on Sunday, and will conclude his trip on Tuesday. On the second day of his arrival, he apprised "The perception of India – not only in Germany – has changed dramatically in recent years. Today, we perceive India, world’s largest democracy, as a rising global power full of opportunities, politically as well as in the economic sector."

Dr Westerwelle is accompanied by a high-ranking delegation, comprising members of the Bundestag (the German Parliament), business personalities and journalists. During his visit, he met Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh and External Affairs Minister S M Krishna.

Both Germany and India are part of the G4 which brings together Brazil and Japan aimed at piling pressure on the veto-wielding permanent five members of the UNSC to expand the all-powerful executive team. Germany needs India to make it a strong case for permanent membership especially since Europe is already represented by the UK, France and Russia, and vice versa as Asia is represented by China.

According to the figures released last month by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), in 2009-10, the two-way trade between the nations reached $15.7bn, a slight dip from its $18.4bn recorded in 2008-09. However, it stated by 2014, Indo-German trade can double to $30bn.

India exports apparel, electronic and electrical equipment, machinery, organic chemicals, and auto-motives to Germany, while it imports machinery, electro-technology, metal products, iron and steel products, automobiles, and auto components. The German investments in India from 2002 to 2009 stood at $2.8bn. It is also a major supplier of technology for India, accounting for over 13 percent of technology transfer approvals.

Germany is India's fifth largest trade partner, besides being largest trading partner in Europe, and it is also the eighth largest investor in India. In recent years, its investment has burgeoned rapidly with cumulative investments estimated at $3.5bn and another $6bn is in the pipeline.

By Jose Roy