German Chancellor Olaf Scholz arrived in India on Saturday for a two-day visit aimed at increasing bilateral trade and pushing forward a European trade deal, despite differences over Ukraine.
Olaf Scholz, accompanied by representatives of major German companies including Siemens, met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi, and will travel to Bangalore (south) on Sunday to visit the premises of German technology companies.
The two parties differ in particular on the war in Ukraine, India refusing to condemn the invasion of Russia, its main supplier of arms. Since the invasion of Ukraine, India has also increased its imports of Russian oil.
“We talked about the big picture and very openly about our assessments of the concrete consequences Russia’s attack on Ukraine has created,” Scholz said after meeting Modi.
“I think it’s safe to say that no one here (in India) has any illusions, including the government, that this is a war launched by Russia to acquire part of the territory of its neighbour,” he added.
“It is important that so many countries have recently very clearly condemned (at the UN) the Russian offensive again. But we should know… that most of the countries that did not vote (in favor of this condemnation) see it as a war of aggression,” he said.
In the vote this week at the UN General Assembly, India stayed behind, as in previous votes, choosing to abstain.
Scholz said he discussed with Modi China’s 12-point document released on Friday calling for a “political settlement” of the conflict. “There are some correct things, for example the renewed warning not to use nuclear weapons. From my point of view, it lacks a mention calling for a withdrawal of Russian troops” from Ukrainian territory, said the chancellor.
For Mr. Scholz, the G20, under India’s presidency, must not relax the pressure on Russia and continue to send “a strong message”.
In an interview with the Times of India newspaper, the German Chancellor stressed that his country wanted to “further strengthen (its) bilateral relationship with India and (its) cooperation on global issues, such as climate change mitigation and transformation of economies in a fair, green and sustainable way”.
“There is enormous potential to intensify cooperation, in sectors such as renewable energy, hydrogen, mobility, pharmaceuticals, digital economy, and many more,” he underlined.
During his visit, the Chancellor is due to discuss an offer by ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems to build six submarines for around five billion dollars, according to the Bloomberg agency.
German officials said Scholz was also to advocate for a trade deal between the European Union and India, currently stalled over disagreements over tariffs and Indian workers’ access to labor. ‘Europe.
“I am in favor of more pressure,” the German chancellor told reporters. “Over the past few years, there have been periods when not much was really changing. My impression is that it is changing,” he added.
For a German official in Berlin, however, the two parties remain “quite distant from each other” on this trade agreement.
“Some people want it done by the end of the year. Others say even the summer of next year [would be] ambitious,” the official said on condition of anonymity.
02/25/2023 18:27:21 – New Delhi (AFP) – © 2023 AFP