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New Delhi: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz used his first visit to India to push for a deeper strategic partnership anchored in defence cooperation and skilled migration, while acknowledging India’s continued reliance on Russian energy and arguing that closer security ties with Europe could help New Delhi reduce long-term dependence on Moscow.

The visit, Merz’s first to Asia since taking office and his maiden trip to India as chancellor, comes as Germany seeks to diversify away from China and reinforce partnerships in the Indo-Pacific, while India balances growing engagement with Europe amidst strained economic ties with United States over tariffs.

In Ahmedabad on Monday (January 12), in the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state, Merz and Modi oversaw the signing of 27 agreements and declarations.

In a notable shift in Berlin’s Indo-Pacific posture, defence cooperation topped the bilateral agenda. 

The two sides agreed to draw up a defence industrial cooperation roadmap focused on joint development, co-production and innovation, alongside deeper collaboration between their defence industries.

“We want to deepen our defence industries and the cooperation of our defence industries, and this has strategic significance that strengthens both sides,” Merz said at a joint press appearance with Modi. Such cooperation, he added, would also contribute to India becoming “less dependent on others, such as Russia.”

However, Indian foreign secretary Vikram Misri later told reporters, in response to a question about the German leader’s remarks, that India’s “approach to defence sourcing” was driven by national interest.

“There are a lot of factors involved in that and it is certainly not ideological, it is entirely driven by our interest,” he said.

While speculation around a major submarine deal involving Germany’s ThyssenKrupp and Indian partners did not translate into an announcement, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said technical and commercial discussions were “proceeding positively” and had gathered “positive momentum”.

Former Indian ambassador to Germany Gurjit Singh described the emphasis on defence as a structural shift. “In the joint statement, point one is defence and security cooperation,” he told DW, underscoring what he called Germany’s clear preference for India as a partner in the........

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