'India Counts on Germany to Deepen Relationship With EU and Expedite FTA Negotiations': EAM S Jaishankar

New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday said that India is relying on Germany to deepen its relationship with the European Union (EU) and expedite the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations.

He said it after concluding a delegation-level meeting with his German Counterpart Johann Wadephul in Delhi.

The External Affairs Minister noted that the discussion with Wadephul was "productive" and views have been exchanged between the two leaders on regional, global, and multilateral issues.

In his opening remarks during the meeting, S Jaishankar pushed for Germany's support to expedite the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations with the EU.

"We count on your support to deepen our relationship with the European Union and expedite the FTA negotiations. India and Germany have a strong history of multilateral cooperation, which, I am confident, will be further advanced through our talks today," S Jaishankar said.

After the meeting, Jaishankar said, "Our conversations and our negotiations predate anything which has happened this year...It's in our mutual interest that we lower tariffs and find other ways of expanding our business and economic cooperation. Obviously, in today's climate, those efforts acquire a greater urgency. I share the Minister's desire and optimism that we would like the FTA negotiations, another round, to take place fairly soon. We would like this to move to a decisive conclusion in the coming days and we believe that this would be in our mutual interest. It will help stabilise the global economy. It will be a big factor there. It will be one of the elements of a ballast which today the world economy really needs."

The Foreign Minister also pointed out the volatility on the global economic landscape and emphasised the need for a “deeper, stronger, wider” India-Germany relationship.

“The changes we see in the world today do influence our policies and do influence the manner in which we approach other countries. We are witnessing significant and far-reaching changes on the global strategic landscape. We're also seeing a lot of volatility on the global economic landscape and I think together they make a very powerful case for India and the European Union and India and Germany to work much more closely with each other,” he said.

"This is a relationship where there are considerable possibilities for fairly rapid growth...There are big changes underway in the world. Those changes make a very compelling case for a deeper, stronger, wider India-Germany relationship," he said after the bilateral talks," EAM Jaishankar added.

This is the first visit of the German Foreign Minister to India since Chancellor Friedrich Merz formed the government this year.

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul has reaffirmed his country's commitment to finalising the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between India and the European Union as soon as possible.

During a delegation-level meeting with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Wadephul stated that Germany is fully supportive of the agreement and will utilise its influence with the European Commission to push it forward.

"Germany is in full support of carrying this Agreement, negotiated as soon as possible," Wadephul said. "We are a free trade nation...the EU is working on (the Agreement with) India, that's the most important to us. I hope really that we can be successful." He added that Germany will utilise all its arguments with the Commission to advance the FTA and enhance relations between their countries and the EU and India.

"You can be assured that we will use all arguments we have with the Commission to put this forward and to reach a level between our countries and between the EU and India on this," he added.

S Jaishankar highlighted the significance of India-Germany relations and expressed gladness over Johann Wadephul's visit to Bengaluru, suggesting that both nations have immense potential for cooperation in technology.

"We are also aware that this is one of your early visits outside Europe and we appreciate your coming to India very much...We are marking 25 years of strategic partnership, 50 years of scientific cooperation, almost 60 years of cultural agreements and as you saw in Bangalore, more than a century of business interactions. I am glad that you had an opportunity during this visit to go to Bengaluru and see the immense potential of our cooperation in technology," S Jaishankar said.

David Wadephul arrived in New Delhi following his engagement in Bengaluru as part of his two-day official visit to the country.

Also Read: 'Germany in Full Support of Carrying FTA Agreement Negotiated as Soon as Possible': Foreign Minister Wadephul