The Angela Merkel era and India

Why in news?

As Chancellor Angela Merkel prepares to hand over power to a new coalition leader, an era ends in Germany and Europe.

Why is Angela Merkel’s tenure so significant?

Angela Merkel was the first woman Chancellor from the conservative party and has been the Chancellor for 16 years from 2005 to 2021.
Her middle-of-the-road approach won her support at the domestic and European levels.
Thrice she formed a government with the Social Democrats, termed the “Grand Coalition”.
As a strong export-based economy, Germany under Merkel outperformed France, the UK, Spain, and Italy in Europe, and posted robust exports behind only China and the US.
During her tenure, the innovative “kurzarbeit” short-time work scheme saved thousands of jobs and prevented layoffs.

What impact has Germany under Merkel had on Europe and the world?

Merkel’s push for an austerity-based approach to the Eurozone crisis for bailout of Greece in 2010 made her very unpopular in European countries.
In 2015, Germany took in a million of those who arrived in Europe during refugee crisis.
Merkel has been seen as the crisis manager of the EU for her role in Europe’s Brexit negotiations with the United Kingdom.
She has also been called the “climate chancellor” for her role in pushing a low-carbon future for Germany and Europe.
Angela could not bring a stronger action against Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and Germany subsequently chose to go ahead with the Nord Stream 2 pipeline for gas supply.
After 2016, Merkel came to be seen as the new “leader of the free world” for she addressed the impact of the pandemic in a timely manner with solidarity.

What about India’s bilateral relationship with Germany under Merkel?

Inter-Governmental Consultations - India and Germany have held five Cabinet-level Inter-Governmental Consultations (IGC) meetings so far which signal the growing political engagement and economic partnership.
The fifth IGC held in 2019 for which Merkel visited India, focussed on sustainable growth and a reliable international order.
The IGC has expanded its scope to artificial intelligence and digital transformation, and pushed forward the ‘Make in India Mittelstand’ programme.
Political level - India and Germany have been at the forefront of the push for UN Security Council reform
Cultural level - There has been joint investment in higher education to enable greater people-to-people contact and collaboration in education.

What are the unfinished tasks that India must now take up with Merkel’s successor?

New Delhi has to engage Berlin on enhancing the aspect of Germany’s own strategy for the Indo-Pacific.
There is scope to scale up defence cooperation.
A major area of cooperation relates to climate change and building more sustainable energy solutions in India.
Another would be investment in higher education and fast-tracking high-skilled Indian employment in Germany.

Source: The Indian Express

India-Germany Relations

India was amongst the first countries to establish diplomatic ties with the Federal Republic of Germany after the Second World War.

Strategic - India and Germany have a “Strategic Partnership” since 2001.India is amongst a select group of countries with which Germany has Inter-Governmental Consultations at the level of Head of Governments (German Chancellor and PM)
Parliamentary Exchanges – There is an Indo-German Parliamentary Friendship Group where visit by Parliamentarians from both sides take place regularly
Sister States - Some States and Cities of India and Germany such as Karnataka and Bavaria have entered into twinning arrangements
Institutional Cooperation Arrangements – Includes High Defence Committee, Indo-German Energy Forum, Indo-German Environment Forum, etc.
Defence Cooperation - India-Germany Defence Cooperation Agreement (2006) provides a framework for bilateral defence cooperation
Economic & Commercial Relations - Germany is India's largest trading partner in Europe and Germany is the 7th largest foreign direct investor in India
Science & Technology - Intergovernmental S&T Cooperation Agreement was signed for fostering research projects and direct partnerships between Universities of both countries
Developmental cooperation – Germany cooperates with India in the areas of smart cities, clean energy, clean ganga, etc.
Culture - . Max Mueller was the first scholar of Indo-European languages to translate and publish the Upanishads and the Rigveda
Indian diaspora in Germany - There are about 1.7 lakh Indians and people of Indian origin in Germany