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Girls in traditional robes welcome Chancellor Olaf Scholz after his landing in India
Photo: Michael Kappeler / dpa
Chancellor Olaf Scholz has arrived in India for a two-day visit.
He was received with military honors by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the capital New Delhi on Saturday morning.
Modi chairs the G20 of leading economic powers this year.
In his welcome speech, Scholz said that there are already good relations between India and Germany.
"And I hope we will strengthen these very good relations."
One of the main topics of the Chancellor's visit will be Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, on which India takes a neutral stance.
India did not agree to the resolution by which the UN General Assembly on Thursday called for Russia to withdraw from Ukraine, but abstained.
No instructions because of Russia course
Scholz wants to expand economic and strategic relations with India - in order to reduce its own dependency on China, but also to free India from its close ties to Russia.
On his first visit to the subcontinent as chancellor, however, he doesn't want to come across as lecturing.
Scholz prepared his trip last weekend in his speech at the Munich Security Conference with a quote from the Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, which he made his own: "Europe must grow out of the mentality that Europe's problems are the world's problems, but that the The problems of the world are not the problems of Europe.« The Indian media liked that very much.
In an interview with the "Times of India" shortly before his trip, Scholz also avoided criticism of India's course on Russia and emphasized the similarities.
»Together we stand up for the sovereignty of states and the peaceful resolution of conflicts worldwide.
We stand firmly behind the message that neo-imperialism will not prevail - history has proven it many times,' he said.
Majority of Indian forces equipped by Russia
India does not only work closely with Russia economically.
Since the Russian attack on Ukraine, it has increased imports of relatively cheap Russian oil.
Critics accuse the country of undermining Western sanctions in this way.
The federal government does not want to make this a problem.
"It would be wrong if we saw this as a provocation," according to government circles.
In view of the size of India with its 1.4 billion inhabitants and the challenges that the country is facing, it is "purely market economy not unreasonable behavior" on the part of India.
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Militarily, too, India is very close to Russia.
Much of the equipment used by the Indian Armed Forces comes from there.
"It cannot be in our interest for things to stay that way," according to German government circles.
The cooperation in the armaments sector will therefore play "an important role" during the trip.
There are already “a few interesting projects”, especially in the maritime sector.
India wants new submarines - maybe with German help
According to Indian media reports, the government in New Delhi is looking for a cooperation partner for the production of six submarines.
Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems from Germany would be an option, but South Korea should also be in the running.
Such a deal would be worth several billion euros.
India currently has 16 conventional submarines and one nuclear submarine.
The country is one of nine countries suspected to have nuclear weapons and has been in conflict with neighboring Pakistan, which also has nuclear weapons, for decades.
Arms exports to India are therefore controversial.
»Highly insufficient« in terms of climate protection
Scholz is accompanied on the trip by a dozen business representatives.
1800 German companies are already active in India.
On Sunday, Scholz will visit a location of the software group SAP in the high-tech metropolis of Bengaluru.
Scholz sees potential for increased cooperation, especially in renewable energies, hydrogen, mobility, the pharmaceutical industry and the digital economy.
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Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Prime Minister Narendra Modi pose in front of Hyderabad House, the Indian government's guest house.
Photo: Michael Kappeler / dpa
Climate protection should also play an important role during the trip.
"Without key countries like India, we will not be able to limit the global temperature increase to such an extent that the 1.5-degree target of the Paris Agreement remains within reach, and to master the green transition," Scholz told the Times of India«.
India is the third largest producer of climate-damaging greenhouse gases after China and the USA, but is lagging behind when it comes to climate protection.
The analysis portal Climate Action Tracker classifies India's plans in the fight against global warming as "highly inadequate".
mpz/dpa
