On June 6, 2023, the Defence Minister of India (Raksha Mantri) Rajnath Singh pitched for opportunities in the defence production sector, including possibilities of German investments in the two Indian defence industrial corridors in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
The German Defence Minister is on a four-day visit to India, and he arrived on June 5, 2023.
Senior defence ministry officials from India, including Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane and the CDS (Chief of Defence Staff), General Anil Chauhan, participated in the delegation meeting. From the German side, the state secretary from the Ministry of Defence, Benedikt Zimmer and the German Ambassador to India, Dr Philip Ackermann.
He also met with his German counterpart Boris Pistorius, and both ministers reviewed the ongoing defence cooperation activities and explored ways to enhance bilateral cooperation, especially in the defence-industrial partnership. This is the first visit of a German dignitary to India since 2015.
According to an official statement from the Ministry of Defence (India), Singh highlighted the opportunities that have opened up in the defence production sector. He suggested that the Indian defence industry can participate in the supply chains of the German defence industry and add value to the ecosystem besides contributing to supply chain resilience.
As per the statement, he stressed that India and Germany could build a more symbiotic relationship based on shared goals and complementary strengths, namely, skilled workforce, competitive costs from India, and high technologies and investment from Germany.
Pistorius also interacted with some Indian Defence Startups at IIT Delhi in an event organised for iDEX (Innovations for Defence Excellence).
The Additional Secretary for Defence Production and the CEO of Defence Innovation, T. Natarajan, briefed Pistorius on the growth of Indi’s defence ecosystem through the iDEX scheme and opportunities for collaboration in global emerging technology sectors.
On June 6, 2023, the German Defence Minister will visit the headquarters of Mazagon Docks Limited (MDL) and Western Naval Command in Mumbai. The MDL and the German Defence organisation Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems are likely to jointly bid for an estimated 5.2 billion project for the Indian Navy. This issue understandably figured in the talks between Pistorius and Rajnath Singh.
According to a report from Bloomberg, Germany and India are closing in on a deal to build diesel submarines for Indian waters as Russia’s prolonged war in Ukraine has pushed the Indian government to expand its sources of military hardware beyond its top supplier.
“We are talking about six submarines, and the German Defence Industry, especially the manufacturers, has an excellent reputation. But of course, there are competitors, and that’s not a secret. We support the Make in India principle favoured by India. We think that is right,” said Pistorius, according to the official statement.
The two ministers also discussed the situation in the Indo-Pacific Region, the Chinese approach to the Straits of Taiwan and, most importantly, the Straits of Malacca and the effects of shipping traffic on Indian waters, besides the Russia-Ukraine War (2022).
“The war has repercussions in every corner of the world. India is trying very hard to reduce its import dependencies significantly and quickly from Russia regarding armaments at 60 per cent. Germany is the largest trading partner for India in the European Union, with a volume of 30 billion euros, significantly more than between India and France. This is where we want to get more involved,” he said.
A Tri-Service Guard of Honour preceded the bilateral meeting with the visiting dignitary.
Other issues highlighted were to enhance defence industrial cooperation, technology partnerships, long-term research and development and improving supply chain security.
India and Germany have a strategic partnership since 2000, which is being strengthened through Intergovernmental consultations at the level of heads of government.
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