7th round of India-Germany Intergovernmental Consultations:
India’s Prime Minister and Germany’s Federal Chancellor co-chaired the 7th round of India-Germany Intergovernmental Consultations (7th IGC) in New Delhi.
- Under the motto “Growing Together with Innovation, Mobility and Sustainability,” it focused on technology, innovation, climate action, and strategic cooperation.
- Earlier, Germany has accorded a special status to India, which will allow for quicker approvals for military purchases.
- Key Highlights:
- Germany’s “Focus on India” Document: It outlines a blueprint for how India and Germany can collaborate to become a “Force for Global Good” e.g., partnership on innovation and technology leadership, Sustainable Development Goals etc.
- Visas for Skilled Indians: Germany has decided to increase visas for the skilled Indian workforce from 20,000 to 90,000.
- Digital and Technology Partnerships: Both countries finalised a work plan for internet governance, tech regulations, digital transformation of the economy, emerging digital technologies, Digital Agriculture, AI and IoT to foster innovation.
- Critical and Emerging Technologies: Both reaffirmed the priorities outlined in the Innovation and Technology Partnership Roadmap in critical and emerging technologies, innovation, and skill development.
- Disaster Mitigation: MoUs were signed between the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) and National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR) to enhance research in disaster mitigation and related fields.
- Space Cooperation: New Space India Ltd and GAF AG (Germany based remote sensing company) agreed for upgrading the international ground station in Neustrelitz, Germany for processing of data from OceanSat – 3 and RISAT – 1A satellites.
- Green and Sustainable Future: Both sides stressed the need to work jointly on the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) which calls for at least USD 100 billion per year for developing countries.
- Both sides launched the Indo-German Green Hydrogen Roadmap and promotion of sustainable urban mobility in India.
- India-EU Strategic Partnership: Both supported the India-EU Trade and Technology Council and coordinated efforts to advance connectivity initiatives, including the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor.
- Track 1.5 Dialogue: The leaders emphasised the importance of the India-Germany Track 1.5 dialogue involving think tanks and experts to foster a deeper understanding of mutual perspectives.
- Triangular Development Cooperation (TDC): The leaders agreed to upscale successful pilot projects in Cameroon, Ghana, and Malawi, while launching new projects related to millet in Ethiopia and Madagascar. TDC involves partnerships between two or more developing countries supported by a developed country(ies)/or multilateral organisation(s) to implement development projects.
- Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT): India and Germany concluded the MLAT in criminal matters aims to bolster cooperation on legal issues, enhancing India and Germany’s ability to jointly address security challenges.
