The Delhi-Meerut Rapid Rail
| Photo Credit: THE HINDU/R.V. MOORTHY
This month, India and Germany celebrate 25 years of strategic partnership. It is a partnership that has steadily evolved and is well equipped to take on the challenges of today’s world. Germany’s ‘Focus on India’ strategy outlines our vision for the future of the bilateral partnership. The new German Coalition Treaty, as well as early phone calls between German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well as German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul with his Indian counterpart S. Jaishankar speak a clear language — we will continue to build on this partnership, and to closely coordinate with our Indian partners.
Our ties are multifaceted, but essentially stand on four pillars — peace, prosperity, people and the future of our planet.
A shared vision
Peace and stability are fundamental prerequisites for the development of our countries. India and Germany share a vision of a peaceful, stable and rules-based world. At the core of our trusted political relationship is a unique format: The Intergovernmental Government Consultations build a strong bridge between our government that solidifies and channels our ties in a comprehensive, productive and purposeful way. An area that has particularly thrived over the last years is our cooperation in the defence sector. I remember vividly standing on the hot tarmac at the Sulur Air Force station (Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu) during the Tarang Shakti Exercise (2024), witnessing the incredible air show of Indian and German pilots whizzing through the air with great skill, coordination and teamwork. These joint military exercises and port calls by the German Navy anchor the Indo-Pacific in the German geostrategic mental map. In the future, we can expect closer strategic cooperation, and closer ties between our defence industries.
Prosperity means more than just economic growth. In a more comprehensive sense, it allows our people to flourish, to find meaningful jobs, and to provide their families with the means for a better future. Around 2,000 German companies are active in India, and they create more than 750,000 jobs for Indians.
One of my most memorable moments in Delhi was visiting the Delhi-Meerut Rapid Rail. These are high-tech trains on great infrastructure, operated by young, talented Indians in the uniforms of Deutsche Bahn, our national railway company, which runs the operations in Delhi. A growing number of Indian companies are also present in Germany, increasingly integrated into our high-tech supply lines.
In times of unprecedented global trade disruptions, these closely integrated supply lines testify to the trust that we place in each other. And this could be just the beginning, as a free trade agreement between India and the European Union — two of the global economic powerhouses — becomes tangible. Science and technology are another part of the prosperity equation. We do ambitious research together, and you will find Indian researchers in our top scientific institutions. With tech cooperation, we can transform environmental challenges into business cases.
People-to-people ties
People fill our strategic partnership with life and stories. A growing number of Indians now call Germany their home. Over 50,000 Indians study in our country — by now the largest group of foreign students at German universities. Some of them spend a few years in Germany, get their first jobs, gain technical experience, earn good money. Many of them then return to India to build their families there. Some Indians also stay in Germany and see their children grow up in our country. Either way, they deepen and enrich our ties. Many young Indians showcase their life in Germany online. I have met many of them in person and listened to their stories. I am always impressed by this uniquely Indian ability to make a new place a home. I see young Indians adapting, thriving, and making their contribution to German society and economy. Germany offers many opportunities to young, ambitious and gifted Indians, but more doors will open to those who learn German.
I witness a great interest in our language all across India and we will have to explore new ways together to match well-equipped German teachers with every interested Indian. The second hurdle is in getting more Germans to study and to work in India. We need more people who understand the story of India, more people who speak one of the many fascinating languages of India, and more people who settle down there to set up shop. Any investment in the younger German and Indian generations will be an investment in the people that will propel our strategic partnership to new heights in the next 25 years.
Green development
Our partnership on the challenges and the future of our planet is one of the most important one: Planet earth is our common ecological lifeline, it future-proofs our livelihoods. In 2022, Germany committed €10 billion in preferential loans and grants for India, over a span of 10 years. This is what we call the Indo-German Green and Sustainable Development Partnership (GSDP). We cooperate with our Indian friends on a large scale on renewables, on biodiversity and on smart city projects. In addition to that, private sector cooperation in this area is also noteworthy. Recently, I visited renewable energy projects in Gujarat, whose scale and ambition are just astonishing — solar panels and windmills in all directions. The rotor blades of the wind turbines are partly produced by a German company — with our technology, we want to be a part of India’s energy transition, and of the fast-paced economy of this country.
I have had the privilege of serving in India twice — between 2007 and 2010 — and as Ambassador since 2022. In these years, India has developed in the most impressive way. And so has our strategic partnership. Looking back at what we have achieved together fills me with a sense of accomplishment, and with great optimism for what is yet to come.
Philipp Ackerman is the German Ambassador to India
Published – May 28, 2025 12:08 am IST