Highlights of Indo-German Partnership

Why in news?

German chancellor Angela Merkel visited India as a part of the biennial Inter-Governmental Consultations (IGC).

What are the highlights of the visit?

• German Chancellor Angela Merkel is the first foreign leader to visit India after Jammu and Kashmir were officially bifurcated into two Union Territories on October 31.
• Germany and India signed 17 agreements and five joint declarations of intent in fields spanning space, civil aviation, maritime technology, medicine, yoga and education.
• India and Germany also committed to working together in areas like artificial intelligence, skills, and more.

What were the key points of discussion?

• Economic Partnership - During the event in Indo-German Chamber of Commerce, Germany pointed out its benefits for investment in India by in infrastructure such as high-speed trains.
• Germany has emphasized the need to restart discussions on the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between India and the European Union, talks for which began in the year 2007.
• This trade agreement has been a long pending demand of Germany, which is India’s largest trading partner in Europe.
• Because of the complicated bureaucratic procedures in India, German investors hold back from making investments, India has committed to working on the areas.
• Infrastructure - India is exploiting German’s cooperation in Smart cities, e-mobility, harnessing water resources and Defence corridors.
• They acknowledged the successful Indo-German Solar Partnership founded in 2015 and the cooperation on Green Energy Corridors established in 2013.
• In order to sustain the positive developments and to achieve the ambitious targets of the Indian government to provide 175 GW power from renewable energy until 2022 and 450 GW in later years and of the German Government to provide 80% of total power generation from renewable energy by 2050.
• Germany also plans to spend up to 1 billion euros in India over the next five years as part of a new partnership between the nations on green urban mobility.
• Tech & Innovation - For the development and use of AI, Germany and India agreed to work closely together to conduct bilateral and multilateral research and development activities.
• Previously, the two countries had signed the Joint Declaration in the Field of Digitalization, Empowerment and Economic Impact in 2017 to broaden the digital dialogue.
• Security - The two leaders also emphasized the “global scourge” of terrorism and urged countries to not let their territories be used to launch terrorist activities.

Source: Indian Express

Quick Fact

Chancellor of Germany

• The Federal Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany is, under the German 1949 Constitution, the head of government of Germany.
• The chancellor is much more independent of the influence of the President and she/he has the right to set the guidelines for all policy areas, thus making the chancellor the real chief executive.
• The role is generally comparable to that of a prime minister in other parliamentary democracies.
• The Chancellor is elected by a majority of the members of the Bundestag (German Parliament) upon the proposal of the President
• This vote is one of the few cases in which a decision requires a majority of all elected members of the Bundestag, not just a majority of those assembled at the time.
• This is referred to as the Chancellor majority and is intended to ensure the establishment of a stable government.
• Unlike regular voting by the Bundestag, the vote to elect the chancellor is by secret ballot.
• This is intended to ensure that the chancellor's majority does not depend on members of their party who might express support in a public setting but be internally opposed.