Germany seeks stronger defence, military collaboration with India
- In Reports
- 04:18 PM, Oct 25, 2024
- Myind Staff
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has shown interest in boosting defence cooperation with India. After meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he shared his hope to build a closer military relationship between the two countries.
Germany has also given India a special status to speed up approvals for military purchases, according to German Ambassador Philipp Ackermann. He mentioned that the German seller is waiting for the Indian government to finalize its decision regarding the P-75I submarine deal. This multi-billion dollar deal will be a key topic during German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's visit to India this week and also during Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's visit over the weekend.
“The German defence industry is mostly privatised. It’s basically a private business, but we are very clearly committed to make these deals possible. So if the Indian armed forces want to buy something from German companies, what you have now is a focus paper in the German Cabinet that is looking very, very favourably at these purchases, and that means that approval time is much accelerated,” said the German envoy said at a press conference ahead of the Chancellor’s visit.
Amid Western efforts to offset China's growing influence, Germany, which has historically not been closely associated with India in defence affairs, is now attempting to join India's efforts to diversify its arms suppliers away from Russia. Scholz stated, "Our overall message is clear, we need more cooperation, not less." He also stated that there is a plan to improve defence cooperation and integrate the forces during intergovernmental meetings with India.
Scholz led the majority of his cabinet on a high-level delegation to New Delhi. In an effort to lessen its dependency on China, Germany is placing a wager on expanded access to the sizable Indian market. In a project valued at an estimated $5 billion, the German firm Thyssenkrupp is one of two bidders seeking to construct six conventional submarines in India. Soon, the Indian Navy is anticipated to make a decision between Spain's Navantia and Thyssenkrupp.
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