Germany, India to boost military ties

NEW DELHI: Germany has planned a “never before” military deployment to India to underline that its engagement in the Indo-Pacific is “serious and long lasting”.

“So what we have planned this year, together with our Indian partners, is something that has never been there before the German Air Force. The German Air Force will send jets to India, but not on our own. We never go alone. We will do it with the French, Spanish and British,” said Sebastian Fuchs, a spokesperson for the German embassy here.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) will host the largescale multi-nation military exercise in southern India in August. Germany will dispatch a significant contingent of military aircraft, including fighter jets, tankers and transport planes, for the exercise.

This will be followed by a visit by a German naval frigate and a combat support ship to Goa in October. This marks the second major naval deployment by Germany to India in recent years.

Fuchs further highlighted the growing European focus on the Indo-Pacifc. These joint military exercises are a tangible outcome of this strategic shift, he said.

On Wednesday, the German embassy launched the German-Indian Green and Sustainable Development Partnership (GSDP) logo here. The GSDP serves as a comprehensive partnership offering political direction and support for strong connections in climate action and sustainable development goals (SDGs). As part of the initiative, Germany will allocate 10 billion euros in new and supplementary commitments to its development cooperation efforts in India in a decade.