New Delhi, Jan 12 (IANS) Reiterating their support for the conclusion of the India–EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA), India and Germany on Monday signed a slew of agreements across sectors such as trade, technology, health and renewable energy.
According to the Ministry of External Affairs, the two sides concluded 19 agreements and made several policy announcements aimed at deepening cooperation across strategic, economic and people-to-people domains.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz welcomed the sustained growth in bilateral trade and investment and noted that bilateral trade reached a record high in 2024, with the positive trend continuing through 2025.
India-Germany bilateral trade in goods and services surpassed $50 billion in 2024, amounting to over 25 per cent of India’s trade with EU.
According to an official statement, the leaders welcomed the signing of a Joint Declaration of Intent on strengthening the bilateral economic cooperation through the German-Indian CEO Forum, which will further promote business and industry collaboration, supported by the long-standing presence of German businesses in India and Indian businesses in Germany.
PM Modi and Chancellor Merz welcomed holding of the CEO forum, and interacted with leading CEOs and industry leaders of both sides to encourage more business collaboration and investment in areas such as technology, automotives, defence, shipbuilding, smart infrastructure, pharma, chemicals, bio-technology, industrial equipment engineering and energy.
They also welcomed progress in cooperation in critical and emerging technologies, including semiconductors, critical minerals, digitalisation, telecommunications, health and the bioeconomy; which consolidates the Innovation and Technology Partnership Roadmap.
They welcomed the strong willingness on both sides to establish an institutional dialogue across the semiconductor value chain through a new Joint Declaration of Intent on Semiconductor Ecosystem Partnership.
They underlined the significance of enhanced institutional research and industrial collaboration between Indian and German semiconductor ecosystems. PM Modi welcomed opening of the Global Capability Centre (GCC) by German technology enterprise Infineon in GIFT city in March last year.
Recognising the importance of resilient supply chains, the Leaders noted the progress on fostering collaboration in the field of critical minerals through a Joint Declaration of Intent (JDoI) on Critical Minerals cooperation.
The two sides aim to explore opportunities in the areas of exploration of critical minerals, R&D, value addition through processing and recycling, as well as acquisition and development of critical mineral assets in both countries and third countries.
Regarding the Indo-German Digital Dialogue, the Leaders noted the finalization of its Work Plan for 2026–27 and emphasised the importance of collaboration on internet and data governance, AI, semiconductors and Industry 4.0, and emerging technologies.
The leaders acknowledged the signing of a JDoI on cooperation in the field of Telecommunications and noted the extension of tenure of the Indo-German Science and Technology Centre (IGSTC).
The leaders noted the enhanced dialogue in area of space between Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and German Space Agency (DLR) and welcomed the possibility to further expand the cooperation between the two agencies. Both sides agreed to enhance space industry level engagements.
The leaders reaffirmed the importance of mobilising finance and investment for renewable energy and welcomed the joint efforts under the India-Germany Platform for Investments in Renewable Energy Worldwide, such as the launch of joint working groups on solar energy manufacturing and wind energy in October 2025, as well as the newly established Joint Working Group on Battery Energy Storage Solutions.
–IANS
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