When Friedrich Merz arrived in India, he did so at a moment when old affinities are acquiring new relevance. German and Sanskrit, two of the oldest recorded Indo-European languages, share more than academic kinship. The Sanskrit root yuj—to yoke or bind—reappears in German as Joch, the yoke itself. Words diverged; the idea of joining endured. Indo-German relations, long courteous and correct, are now being yoked by economic necessity and strategic calculation rather than sentiment.

That necessity is visible in the numbers. Bilateral trade crossed $50 billion in 2024, a psychological and economic threshold that underscores Germany’s place as India’s principal economic gateway to Europe. More than a quarter of India’s total trade with the EU flows through Germany, making Berlin a central node. India’s exports are led by engineering goods, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, and textiles and apparel—a mix that reflects its gradual move up the value chain. Germany’s exports to India are dominated by machinery and industrial equipment, automobiles and auto components, and electrical and electronic systems. The trade balance still favours Germany, with a $6 billion surplus, but that gap has narrowed.

Merz was accompanied by 23 leading German CEOs, an unusually heavy corporate phalanx. Their presence betrayed urgency. Germany’s economic........

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