Indo-German ties: Piyush Goyal, Wadephul push trade and security cooperation; EU-India FTA seen as key priority

India and Germany on Wednesday reaffirmed their commitment to deepen economic and strategic cooperation, with discussions covering trade, innovation, defence and security during German foreign minister Johann Wadephul’s two-day visit to the country.Commerce minister Piyush Goyal co-chaired a meeting in the capital with Wadephul and business delegations from both sides. Sharing details on X, Goyal said the dialogue centred on “strengthening trade facilitation, regulatory frameworks, and market access,” while also exploring collaboration in “defence, space, innovation and automobiles.”
In a separate post, he wrote, “Held a productive meeting with Mr. Johann Wadephul, Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs, Germany @AussenMinDE. Our discussions focused on boosting bilateral trade and investment ties, while exploring new avenues of cooperation in innovation, sustainability, technology & other areas of mutual interest for shared growth & prosperity.”During the talks, Wadephul reiterated Germany’s strong backing for the early finalisation of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between India and the European Union. India and the EU aim to conclude the long-pending deal by the end of 2025.“This visit further fortifies the India-Germany Strategic Partnership,” Goyal noted, with 2025 marking 25 years of its inception.Wadephul, who arrived in Bengaluru on Tuesday and visited the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), described India as a vital partner in the Indo-Pacific and on the global stage. In posts on X, he emphasised that relations between the two nations are close “politically, economically, culturally” and stressed that democracies like Germany and India are “natural partners” in upholding a rules-based international order amid growing geopolitical challenges.“India plays a decisive role in shaping the international order of our century. We as democracies are natural partners in this,” Wadephul said.Wadephul praised India’s technology growth after his Bengaluru visit, calling the country an “innovative powerhouse.” He said Germany and India had “a lot to gain” by expanding cooperation, adding that both sides already play “in the Premier League” of trade, with bilateral commerce valued at nearly €31 billion.The German minister, who also held talks with external affairs minister S Jaishankar, raised concerns about China’s “increasingly aggressive behaviour” in the Indo-Pacific and underlined the need for closer cooperation in defence, security and armaments.“Security in the Indo-Pacific is closely linked to security in Europe,” he said, while also citing Russia’s war in Ukraine as the biggest ongoing challenge to global security.Germany, one of India’s most valued European partners, marked 70 years of diplomatic ties with New Delhi in 2021.