E-Paper
India’s economic growth driving deeper ties with Germany: Envoy
In Chandigarh on his two-day maiden visit, German ambassador Dr Philipp Ackermann says India is the only market that has somehow rivalled the Chinese one and the business scene is “very interesting”.
India’s solid economic growth has emerged as the key driver of its deepening ties with Germany and also opened up an array of investment opportunities for German companies, says Dr Philipp Ackermann, German ambassador in New Delhi.
In Chandigarh on his two-day maiden visit that began on Thursday, the German envoy said that India is the only market that has somehow rivalled the Chinese one and the business scene is “very interesting”.
Also read:
“India has achieved a solid economic growth and development in recent years, which is one of the best in the world,” he said, laying the context of a deepening engagement between India and Germany. He added: “Certainly, the changed geo politics has played a big role in that. The Russian aggression in Ukraine and the question how the world is trying to sustain the international order are the new dynamics.”
With a trade balance of $32 billion, Germany is India’s the biggest trade partner in European Union. “This is quite a lot. Almost all top German companies have a presence in India. But there is a lot of room for bolstering business relations,” he said.
He said more small and medium German companies are coming to India which is “a good sign”, while identifying renewable energy as one of the potential investment opportunities in Punjab and Haryana. “Overall, I am very bullish about bilateral business.”
He said Germany is open to accept skilled migrants and welcome students from India. At present, there are 35,000 Indian students in Germany with applications for next year already touching 32,000. “It is growing big time.”
On the German visa-processing timeframe, he said the Delhi embassy had hired 16 people to clear the backlog of the pandemic times. “Right now, it’s about two-and-a-half months. But, we would like it to be three weeks,” he added.
