"Top German politicians have a new favorite travel destination: India. Following the recent visit by Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, Chancellor Friedrich Merz is heading to New Delhi on Sunday with a larger delegation. The reasons for Germany's heightened interest in the world's most populous country (India has about 1.45 billion people) are both economic and geopolitical: According to a prognosis from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development , the Indian economy will grow significantly more than China's this year."
""India's strengths are primarily in the services sector," said Christian Wagner, India specialist at the Berlin-based German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP). "India serves as the office of the global economy. China, on the other hand, is more like the factory of the global economy." India has undergone rapid development in the process, Wagner told DW. "It began with the call centers. Now it is the research facilities. Many large German companies have outsourced their research institutes to India. And the Indian students who come to us mostly do degrees in science and engineering.""
Top German politicians are intensifying engagement with India, with Chancellor Friedrich Merz traveling to New Delhi following Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul’s visit. Economic and geopolitical factors drive the shift: the OECD forecasts Indian growth outpacing China’s this year while Germany endures almost three years of recession. Germany faces a skills shortage and is recruiting more workers from India; Indian students are now the largest foreign group at German universities. India’s comparative advantage lies in services, research and technology outsourcing, while China remains the global manufacturing hub. Trade with India reached €29 billion in 2024, still far below the roughly €246 billion with China; security and tariff issues complicate China trade.
Read at www.dw.com
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