Mr Mathur,
Mr Graf,
Cabinet colleagues,
Members of the business delegation, led by Mr Kaeser,
Ambassador,
Ladies and gentlemen,
I am delighted to be with you for a second time – this time in New Delhi – and to be opening with you what is now the 63rd Annual General Meeting of the Indo‑German Chamber of Commerce. The Indo‑German Chamber of Commerce has not only been active for a long time; it is also the biggest German Chamber of Commerce Abroad. And that is saying something, because there are over 140 of them, working in 92 countries around the world. That in itself shows that India and Germany are good and reliable economic partners for each other. There are some 1800 German companies operating in India. One must never forget – and I’m saying this to the German guests here today – that India is a continent of great diversity and regional divergence. So it is no wonder that many different kinds of German companies are active here. German firms provide hundreds of thousands of jobs in India.
I first came to India as Federal Chancellor in 2007. I was able to be in attendance when we waved the Science Express off on its journey around the country, bringing the world of science closer to young people in particular. Many companies were involved in the Science Express, alongside scientific institutions. I mention that because I see the Science Express project as a fantastic symbol of the diversity of Indo‑German relations – relations which we have been nurturing for many years and which were raised to a new level with the first intergovernmental consultations in 2011.
Yesterday we held the fifth Indo‑German intergovernmental consultations. My delegation and I received a very warm welcome from Prime Minister Modi and his Government. Intergovernmental consultations have the advantage of covering the entire spectrum of cooperation – from issues relating to sustainable development, our economic relations, innovation and the digital transformation to, of course, foreign and security‑policy challenges.
We have agreed to work even more closely together than hitherto on climate change mitigation and innovative technologies for more sustainability. We decided to launch the Indo‑German Partnership for Green Urban Mobility. We will earmark one billion euros for this over the next five years. What we intend to do, among other things, is put 500 new electric buses on the road in the state of Tamil Nadu and replace 2000 old diesel‑engine buses with more energy‑efficient models. Anyone who noticed the air quality in Delhi yesterday will doubtless be well able to argue that there is a need for even more electric buses.
We also want to collaborate more closely on the digital transformation and artificial intelligence. Here we have identified two areas which might be of great significance, if we get results. Firstly, the health sector, and secondly, agriculture. The Federal Minister of Agriculture is here today. You are all aware of how hugely important agriculture is for India. 50% of the population work in agriculture. Yields are by no means as good as they could be. The losses after the harvest are substantial. The entire logistical infrastructure needs to be improved. And a great deal more can be done to encourage cooperation among the many small farmers in rural areas. One has to recognise this: if nothing happens in the rural areas, people flood to urban areas, which then become completely overstretched. In other words, any move to develop rural areas is also good news for sustainable development in urban areas. That is why I think this is so important.
The digitalisation of agriculture will help not only to increase yields but also to make better use of fertilisers, pesticides and seeds, which will in turn protect the soil and the groundwater. After all, water is an issue in many ways here in India. The fact that the digital transformation opens up many possibilities in the health sector, too – for example, being able to evaluate huge quantities of data to gain knowledge for treatments – is of course clear.
So I am very interested to learn about the findings of the newly‑agreed Digital Expert Group, an initiative of German and Indian companies and research institutions which is to draw up proposals for joint projects and policy measures to be presented to the German and Indian Governments. Perhaps you as the Chamber of Commerce Abroad can take a more detailed look at our various projects and see whether there is anything among them for you, and perhaps where something more could be done over and above your own current engagement.
Ladies and gentlemen, German and Indian companies work together for many reasons; the motivations for German companies to be present here in India are many. Over the past 20 years the country has boasted an impressive growth rate of seven percent. The Indian market is not only enormous, but also very dynamic. That is why you are interested, and that is why I am accompanied on this trip by a business delegation, many of whom – with the exception of Mr Kaeser, who represents a huge company, Siemens – are from SMEs and naturally have to learn how to navigate India’s labyrinthine bureaucracy. That is why, at yesterday’s roundtable with Prime Minister Modi, we did not hesitate to speak very frankly about the various obstacles our companies come up against in India, but also about those which Indian companies find in Europe. Because Europe has plenty of red tape too. We will be talking to the European Commission once again to see whether it might not be possible to simplify certain things.
We believe there are good openings for German engagement in the further modernisation of Indian infrastructure, particularly the planned high‑speed rail links. We also want to help shape urbanisation, promoting smart cities and renewable energy sources. India’s renewables capacity amounts to approximately 75 gigawatts. But that is just a drop in the ocean for such a big country with its population of 1.4 billion. We have the same in Germany, with our population of 83 million. But it is good that a further 100 gigawatts are to be added in the coming years.
I am told again and again that water and waste management is a huge issue. Germany has excellent technologies to offer in this area. However, we have to say – this is what companies all tell us – that while everything already works really well B2B, when it comes to waste management in towns and cities, in other words when the customers are the inhabitants, there are a whole range of problems, because pricing certain public services is no easy matter when you are dealing with areas with very different lifestyles, backgrounds and incomes. In better‑off parts of town, you could certainly charge prices that reflect the services provided. In other parts of town that would be much more problematic. In Chile we saw how increasing the price of an underground ticket by four cents can very rapidly cause major social dislocation. This is certainly not a very easy matter. In the long term, however, environmental services, waste collection, electricity, etcetera need to be naturally priced, otherwise things will not work properly.
Now we know, of course, that good intentions alone are not enough. That is why we have established an instrument, the fast track procedure. When an investment stalls, a way to the Prime Minister’s office can be found via the Embassy or Ambassador Lindner, and then these cases can be examined to see what the difficulty is that’s holding things up. The German business community has said it would be ideal to have such an instrument in every state of India, because many decisions are taken at state level. We want to continue working on that. In addition, we need new rules to protect German investment. The old regulation expired in 2016.
What we need even more urgently – as I discussed in detail yesterday with the Prime Minister – is to restart the negotiations with the European Union on an EU‑India free trade agreement. At one point we were quite close to doing so, but then a few points of contention emerged, relating in particular to access to public procurement, and to agriculture. However, we have undertaken to make a fresh attempt with the new European Commission, not least because the Trade Commissioner in the new Commission used to be Agriculture Commissioner in the old Commission and is very familiar with the subject.
We, India and Germany, are firmly committed to the multilateral trade system. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas and his French counterpart held a meeting on the fringes of the UN General Assembly for countries committed to multilateralism. I am happy to say that India was one of them. We want to strengthen multilateralism. Prime Minister Modi and I were agreed on this yesterday.
As a strong economy and populous nation, India is becoming increasingly prominent in international cooperation. Naturally this also means that the country has an increased responsibility in international affairs. We already work together in various UN‑led maritime missions. We have a shared interest in the development of Afghanistan. Obviously it is always also a matter of ensuring fair relations between states. Clearly this is only possible if states understand each other, and if they are willing to seek a fair accommodation of interests and to try to find solutions through dialogue. This represents a position which India embodies worldwide in the great figure of Mahatma Gandhi, whose 150th birthday we are celebrating this year. And so it was a very special moment for me yesterday when, along with Prime Minister Modi, I visited the last house Gandhi lived in, Gandhi Smriti. Thank you very much indeed for giving me that opportunity.
This year, indeed, we are marking several anniversaries. Thirty years ago, the Berlin Wall fell. Seventy years ago, the Federal Republic of Germany was founded. Two years before that, in 1947, India attained independence. And in 1951, Germany and India established diplomatic relations. These were important milestones. Since then, the Chambers of Commerce Abroad have done wonderful work. I wish once again to tell all of you here, and especially the Committee, that we very much appreciate it. Alongside the political Ambassador, you too are important ambassadors in India, this great country.
I can reveal that you might be facing even more work. Because we recently adopted an immigration act for skilled workers. I believe the fact that there are now almost 20,000 Indian students in Germany is in itself good news. More and more universities are offering courses in English, meaning that there is no longer such a big language barrier as there once was. Though we are happy about every student who decides to learn German. The Goethe‑Institut does a lot to encourage people to learn the language. You no longer necessarily have to be able to speak fluent German to do an apprenticeship in Germany. The first priority is specialist know‑how, and then your knowledge of German becomes more important and your skills improve. Our proposal is that the Chambers of Commerce Abroad be a point of contact for people who want to go to Germany as skilled workers, in other words that they act as a kind of job broker, and then fill out the visa applications in close cooperation with the Embassies. We all know, after all, that some people complain about how long it takes to process a visa application. In order for the immigration act for skilled workers to function properly, we want to introduce a mechanism that will work right from the word go as of March next year. We will be discussing this with the German business community at the end of the year. I can imagine there might definitely be a certain interest on the Indian side in sending skilled workers to Germany.
In 2022, India will celebrate 75 years of independence and in that same year will assume the G20 Presidency. Germany will hold the G7 Presidency then. We will have to think about what Indo‑German highlights we can arrange for that year. I would like to conclude by saying I at least am convinced that our cooperation has a great deal more potential. In 2030 India will have a bigger population than China. Following Mr Modi’s second election, India will strengthen its international role. India has a young population who want to live in prosperity but who also want to work hard.
And so you deserve our gratitude for creating jobs here, and for passing on your experience, hopefully while making money here in India. Of course we want that too. Let us work together to make relations between our two countries even stronger, even more vibrant and even more intensive. The political will is certainly there, as emphasised by these Indo‑German intergovernmental consultations.
Thank you very much for inviting me to be with you at the opening of your Annual General Meeting today.
- - -