An official statement said the 7th IGC is scheduled to be held in New Delhi on October 25-26 and co-chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Launched in 2011, the IGC format encourages a review of cooperation and identification of new areas of engagement at the Cabinet level.
Germany shares this special agreement and cooperation with India, encouraging Chancellor Scholz to visit India for the third time as a chancellor. PM Modi and Chancellor have met seven times since 2022 boosting the international relationship across borders.
7th IGC: Strong Technology Focus
India – Germany is Celebrating 50 years of Science and Technology cooperation this year indulging in increased cooperation in new and emerging technologies. The 7th IGC is expected to have a strong technology focus, with ‘sustainability and a green transition, migration and mobility and technology and innovation’ being the key areas.
Germany released two important India-centric documents just before the run-up to IGC. ‘Focus On India’ is the document particularly catering to the strategy devised to improve relations with India. Another is the skilled labor strategy that focuses primarily on the movement of skilled workforce form India to Germany to tackle to adverse shortage. This marks the first country-specific strategy devised by Germany. There are more than 2.5 lakh Indians and persons of Indian origin in Germany, as of December 2023.
Enhancing Defense and Security Cooperation
Germany is one of India’s most important partners in the EU which implies their interest in enhancing the defence and security cooperation.
In 1951, the diplomatic relations between Germany and India were established which also cumulated into being strategic partners in 2000.
They share similar democratic values, multilateralism, and rule-based international order. The primary intention to solidify the defense and security cooperation is to take on the global geopolitical challenges with full force.
Germany and India: 3rd and 5th largest economies respectively
Both these nations share a robust economic partnership, with Germany being India’s largest trading partner in the EU. According to Destatis, the Federal Statistical Office of Germany, trade was at an all-time high with USD 33.33 billion in 2023, a rise of 5.84%.
As per the Indo-German Chamber Of Commerce, more than 2000 German companies are active in India. The cumulative FDI from Germany to India from April 2000 to December 2023 was USD 14.5 billion. India and Germany are also working together on Triangular Development Cooperation which focuses on coming together for developmental projects and facilitating cooperation in the third countries.
