India, Germany ties very connected: Envoy

During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s brief stopover in Berlin in April, he and German Chancellor Angela Merkel were absorbed in chatting by themselves for over 20 minutes in the balcony of the Chancellery, ahead of their official dinner meeting, a clear sign of the good chemistry they share. When Merkel visits India in November, for the biennial intergovernmental meeting, preparations are in full swing to take Indo-German strategic ties to a new high, said German Ambassador Walter J. Lindner.

The Intergovernmental Consultations (IGC), a strategic partnership meeting held

at the level of head of government every two years, is something Germany has reserved for only the “very big and important countries”.

“This (IGC) is a very good way of pushing things, giving things a bit more boost,” Lindner said. Though the two sides keep working through the year, the physical presence of the two heads of government, together with several of their ministers, gives the ties a major fillip. During the last IGC, both signed 12 cooperation documents in various sectors.

Recounting Modi’s brief visit to Berlin in April 2018 for a dinner meeting, at the suggestion of Merkel, who had just begun her fourth term as Chancellor, Lindner said: “Prime Minister Modi was in Berlin on a stopover from the London Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. We were waiting there (at the Chancellery) for dinner. And they were on the balcony chatting, the two of them, for 20 minutes, the Chancellor and PM Modi. And we were sitting on the table. At the time it was Vijay Gokhale who was my colleague there. And we at the table doing small talk, wondering what they were talking about.”

Later she said, “We were talking much about the future of work, the repercussions of globalisation, what this means to the world economy, and robotics, and industry 4.0; these kind of things”. I think these will also be announced in the (forthcoming) agenda,” Lindner told IANS.

Describing the bilateral ties as “very, very connected, and a dense relationship”, Lindner said: “Our preparation process is in full swing.” On areas to be covered during the visit, he said they would include “innovation, industry and also industry 4.0 (fourth industrial revolution) - Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things, Robotics as well as energy, renewable energy, sustainable development, vocational training and environment,” among other subjects.