German Chancellor Fredrich Merz came on an official visit to India on January 12-13. The Joint Statement issued after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his talks in Ahmedabad noted that the “visit followed the successful 7th India–Germany Inter-Governmental Consultations (IGC) held in New Delhi on 25 October 2024, and comes at a high point in the journey of bilateral ties between the two countries, with completion of 25 years of India–Germany Strategic Partnership in 2025, and commemoration of 75 years of diplomatic relations in 2026”. Merz specially thanked Modi for arranging the meeting in Gujarat. He said that this was a signal of Modi’s friendship towards him. He also called Ahmedabad “a cradle of modern India’.

There is no doubt that India and Germany want their bilateral ties to grow rapidly because their national interests coincide in a world in which, as Merz said in his media statement after his talks with Modi, “Rough winds are blowing and we have to brace ourselves”. Merz prefaced this comment with the observation that he was meeting Modi “amidst profound geopolitical changes and upheavals”. He also mentioned that these changes in world order and great power politics was leading to “thinking of spheres of influence”. Merz has captured what will be the inevitable global impact of the United States’ policies and actions during the first year of Donald Trump’s presidency. There is no........

© Greater Kashmir