Europe’s increasing strain with the US represents a
golden opportunity for India, one the latter can use to offer an alternative a
Chinese-led new world order
Indian Prime Minister Narendra
Modi’s visit to Berlin on Monday could not have come at a more opportune
moment, with German Chancellor Angela Merkel having clearly outlined her
intention to cultivate new allies in the east in the wake of America signaling
its intent to withdraw from the world.
Europe’s increasing strain with the
US represents a golden opportunity for India, which boasts a rapidly
growing economy and a robust democratic political system.
According to Dr. Siegfried O. Wolf,
a senior researcher at Heidelberg University’s South Asia Institute and a
former consultant with the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and
Development, Modi’s Germany trip can “usher a new frontier in European
Union-Asia relations based on democratic values, which will help stabilize the
Eurasian region.”
Wolf believes China’s efforts to create a new world order conducive to its own
strategic interests create substantial common ground for New Delhi and
Berlin to build a solid framework for economic and political cooperation.
Indian Premier Narendra Modi has echoed that sentiment, endorsing an
EU-centric world vision in which Indo-German ties truly count.
“At a time when protectionist
tendencies are rising globally, the affirmation by our two leaders of openness,
greater trade, investments and exchange of technology for mutual growth
provides businesses on both sides with much needed confidence,” says Dr. Alwyn
Didar Singh, Secretary General of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce
and Industry (FICCI).
Indo-German co-operation is
enshrined in a framework adopted in May 2000: the Agenda for German-Indian
Partnership in the 21st Century. However there is a feeling that more can be
done strengthen bilateral relations on a strategic level.
After all, Germany is a key ally of
India, and one that facilitated the lifting of global sanctions imposed on New
Delhi after its 1998 atomic tests. It is also the country’s largest trading
partner in the European Union and one of its leading sources of foreign
direct investment, contributing US$2 billion in the last two years alone. Trade
between the countries currently stands at US$18.73 billion.
“At a time when protectionist
tendencies are rising globally, the affirmation by our two leaders of openness,
greater trade, investments and exchange of technology for mutual growth
provides businesses on both sides with much needed confidence”
The two currently have no formal
bilateral trade agreement, however. An India-Germany Bilateral Investment
Treaty lapsed in March this year and negotiations over a fresh trade agreement
with the Europe Union have been creeping along at snail’s
pace since 2007.
Meanwhile, the Germans have
complained about obstacles to their entrepreneurial efforts, although
Singh contends that some of those difficulties have been remedied with the
implementation of the 2015 “fast track agreement” to facilitate German
companies investing in India.
Modi’s Berlin trip is likely to
enhance Germany’s contribution in making India a global design and
manufacturing hub, and India’s FICCI is well positioned to play the role of
facilitator. Crucially, a concentrated “Make in India” thrust and a
business-friendly policy realignment from New Delhi are making India
a key destination for global capital seeking profitable returns. Singh believes
efforts to attract German SMEs will help to mitigate India’s unemployment
problem significantly.
Former Indian Ambassador to Germany
Kishan S Rana asserts: “Germany is not only the locomotive of the European
Union but also a bastion of technology and innovation – the reason why it
remains a vital partner for Indian growth ambitions.” Given India’s
well-chronicled weaknesses in delivering on promises, Rana advocates a
time-bound program of concrete aims be established.
Seema Sengupta is a Calcutta based
journalist and columnist
No comments:
Post a Comment