What the Chancellor and half the Cabinet want in India

What the Chancellor and half the Cabinet want in India Article by RP ONLINE • 2 hours • 3 minutes reading time Berlin/New Delhi. Olaf Scholz is taking three days off for India. Five of his ministers are also heading to New Delhi, 6,000 kilometers away. There is more than one reason for the effort. Government consultations are a bit like a school trip. The Chancellor brings together several ministers to give relations with a particularly close or important partner in the world a big boost. Often half the Cabinet is already squatting in the government plane for hours on the outbound flight in a very small space - and no one can get out. The German-Indian government consultations are different. The traffic light government will gradually trickle into New Delhi over the next few hours for the seventh meeting of this kind in New Delhi. First, Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck (Greens) and Labor Minister Hubertus Heil (SPD) land in the Indian capital early this morning. Shortly afterwards, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) and Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) take off from Berlin to India on a second government plane. Later, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock will arrive from Paris and Education Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger will follow on a scheduled flight straight after a visit to Kyiv. On Friday, they will all meet at Hyderabad House, the government guest house in New Delhi, to consult with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his cabinet. This is what it is about: Russia: India as a mediator The trip has a lot to do with Russia. Along with Brazil and South Africa, India is one of the three countries in the G20 group of states that have good relations with both Moscow and the West. Modi is currently in Kazan, Russia, for the summit of the so-called BRICS states, which see themselves as a counterweight to the G7 of leading Western economic powers. In the efforts to end the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, India could have a special role to play because of its good relations with both camps. Chancellor Scholz has been promoting a new peace conference for months, in which Russia is also expected to participate. Security: Joint naval maneuver Germany and India entered into a strategic partnership more than 20 years ago and now want to further intensify their cooperation in the field of security. On Saturday, Scholz will visit the German frigate "Baden-Württemberg" and the supply ship "Frankfurt" in the province of Goa, which are taking part in a joint maneuver with the Indian Navy. There is also still "untapped potential" in arms cooperation, Modi said during the Chancellor's last visit to India last year. India's armed forces are currently largely equipped with Russian weapons. The federal government would like to help change that. Economy: Habeck hopes for a free trade agreement Before his departure, Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) insisted on a speedy conclusion of the free trade agreement between the EU and India. "Negotiations have been going on for 20 years, which is not exactly Germany's pace. Let's see if we can unravel a few knots," said the Green politician. The first negotiations on such an agreement took place from 2007 to 2013. But the talks failed at the time. From a German perspective, hurdles included protective measures for the Indian automotive sector. Negotiations were resumed in 2022. Skilled workers: Heil wants to promote recruitment For Labor Minister Heil, it's about recruiting skilled workers from India. The world's most populous country is an "ideal partner," said the SPD politician before departure. Heil: "In India, an additional one million people enter the labor market every month." Last Wednesday, the cabinet decided on a strategy to make it easier to recruit skilled workers, the implementation of which is to be promoted during the trip.