Embassy of India

Berlin

PRESS RELEASE

Indian and German political leaders express strong commitment to strengthening trade and economic relations

The confidence of businesses on both sides received a boost with the support assured by Members of Parliaments of India and Germany at the fourth Indo-German Business Dialogue that was held on 11 September 2019 at the Embassy of India, Berlin. The annual event being held since 2016, co-hosted by German Parliamentarian Mr. Mark Hauptmann and Embassy of India, Berlin, has emerged as a high-level economic platform to encourage and facilitate partnerships between the Indian and German industries and foster and exchange new ideas.

2. This year, the Dialogue was attended by Mr. Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Member of Lok Sabha, Mr. Christian Hirte, Parliamentary State Secretary, Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy (BMWi), Mr. Ralph Brinkhaus, Parliamentary Faction Leader of the ruling CDU/CSU Parties in the German Bundestag and Deputy Chair of the India-Germany Parliamentary Friendship Group, and Mr. Markus Koob, Member of Parliament and Rapporteur for India in the Bundestag Foreign Affairs Committee. Over 200 representatives of German industry, Chambers of Commerce, academia, think tanks and policy makers, were also present at the Business Dialogue. Participants discussed synergies in sectors of emerging technologies, Artificial Intelligence and Start-ups, with the Make in India initiative continuing to be the key driver in fostering German interest in investing in India.

3. Ambassador of India, Mrs. Mukta Dutta Tomar encouraged businesses to capitalise on the opportunities offered by India, especially in frontier technologies to provide business solutions aimed at sustainable development. Mr. Mark Hauptmann, co-organiser of the Indo-German Business Dialogue, emphasised the importance of business cooperation between the two countries that are set in motion by high level visits as well as through the networking opportunities offered through business events such as the Indo-German Business Dialogue.

4. Mr. Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha), the Keynote Speaker, emphasised the importance laid on facilitating businesses in India and the continuous measures and reforms to ensure a stable and growth-oriented environment. These sentiments were echoed by Mr. Ralph Brinkhaus, Chairman of the CDU/CSU Fraction, German Parliament, who said that India–Germany relationship goes beyond mere interests of the two countries, and that this relationship is a story of the enduring partnership that exists between India and Germany. Parliamentary State Secretary, Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy (BMWi) Mr. Christian Hirte reaffirmed that India and Germany could be even stronger strategic partners and enhancing the bilateral economic engagement was a priority for both Governments.

5. The event marked the start of the fifth year of the Make in India Mittelstand (MIIM) Programme, which is an investment facilitation programme implemented by the Embassy of India, Berlin, since 2015. The programme is facilitating more than 135 German Mittelstand companies (SMEs) with a declared investment of over 1.2 billion Euros in India.

6. Indian and German businesses including Wipro, Herrenknecht, Rolls Royce offered ideas for strengthening economic cooperation stressing the need to focus on bilateral cooperation in AI, Start-ups and infrastructure. Businesses noted that Germany's engineering competencies and India's strengths in Information Technology create significant opportunities for collaboration in innovation. The event reverberated with strengthened commitment towards taking India and Germany economic relations to the next level.

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Berlin, 13 September 2019