India, Germany begin high-level talks about strategic partnership amid COVID-19

India and Germany have begun high-level talks amid the COVID-19 pandemic on November 2 with Foreign Secretary Harsh V Shringla having 12-hours-long of continuous engagements in Berlin, said Indian Mission in Germany. As per the statement, the meetings would focus on the bilateral relationship of both nations and the alignment in the reform of multilateral institutions for the 21zst century. Apart from that, the strategic partners would also discuss Berlin’s stance on the Indo-pacific region and its compatibility with India’s approach. The talks about also note Berlin as a stakeholder in India’s modernisation to continue and strengthen the partnership. 

Shringla’s visit to Germany came a day after the Foreign Secretary held a briefing on the nation’s foreign policy and initiatives of the ministry in France. He had rounded up his Paris trip with a detailed discussion about the post-COVID-19 pandemic recovery and the role of India and France strategic partnership while outlining the requirement of expanding think-tank engagements with several representatives. Shringla had previously even said that he reiterated Prime minister Narendra Modi’s message on terror attacks in France in the message to French interlocutors and even at a public event at the Insitute of French International Relations. 

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India and Germany bilateral relations

India was one of the first nations to establish diplomatic ties with Germany after World War I and now Germany is India’s most important partners both bilaterally and on the international level. The India-Germany strategic partnership that is still continuing amid the COVID-19 pandemic was established in 2001. It was strengthened with the Intergovernmental Consultations (IGC) in 2011 that permits a comprehensive review of cooperation as well as identification of fresh areas of engagement. 

India is also among the selected group of nations that Germany maintains such a dialogue mechanism and the during the fourth IGC, held in Berlin on May 30, 2017, both nations signed at least 12 bilateral cooperation documents involving various sectors. It was followed by another IGC in New Delhi on November 1, 2019, where India and Germany signed 22 of such documents. German Chancellor Angela Merkel last visited India from October 31, 2019, to November 1, 2019, and attended the fifth Intergovernmental Consultations.

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