Prime Minister Narendra Modi greets German Chancellor Friedrich Merz as they share a light-weight second in opposition to the backdrop of vibrant smoke trails launched over the Sabarmati river in the course of the Worldwide Kite Pageant, in Ahmedabad.
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India and Germany on Monday deepened their financial and strategic engagement with a sequence of agreements aimed toward facilitating authorized migration of Indian professionals—particularly within the healthcare sector—strengthening safety ties and increasing cooperation in renewable vitality.
Following bilateral talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and German Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Gandhinagar, the 2 sides additionally introduced a visa-free transit facility for Indians, underscoring rising belief as bilateral commerce crosses the $50-billion mark and greater than 2,000 German corporations proceed to function in India.
Emphasising the rising people-to-people join, Prime Minister Modi mentioned each nations are putting particular deal with expertise mobility and abilities cooperation. “Now we have positioned particular emphasis on rising migration, mobility, and abilities. India’s gifted youth are making a big contribution to Germany’s economic system. The Joint Declaration of Intent issued in the present day on the World Expertise Partnership is a logo of this belief. This can facilitate the motion of healthcare professionals specifically,” the Prime Minister mentioned after the assembly.
The leaders additionally mentioned increasing collaboration in clear and sustainable vitality, figuring out it as a shared strategic precedence. PM Modi mentioned India and Germany have comparable goals within the renewable vitality sector and introduced the choice to ascertain an India–Germany Centre of Excellence to boost cooperation in inexperienced applied sciences, innovation and local weather motion.
The 2 sides additionally signed agreements within the cultural and heritage area. PM Modi pointed to a partnership between the German Maritime Museum and the Nationwide Maritime Heritage Advanced being developed at Lothal in Gujarat. “This can be a historic step connecting the maritime historical past of each nations,” he mentioned.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is on a two-day official go to to India, coinciding with celebrations marking 75 years of diplomatic relations and 25 years of the India–Germany strategic partnership. That is Merz’s first go to to an Asian nation since assuming workplace and comes at a time when each nations are working in direction of freezing a long-pending Free Commerce Settlement (FTA).
Exterior Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Nationwide Safety Advisor Ajit Doval, and Overseas Secretary Vikram Misri had been additionally a part of the Indian delegation in the course of the talks held in Gandhinagar.
Earlier within the day, Prime Minister Modi and Chancellor Merz visited the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad and took part within the Worldwide Kite Pageant held on the Sabarmati Riverfront, underscoring the cultural dimension of the bilateral relationship.
Printed on January 12, 2026
