Minister Habeck travels to India: “Important partner in the diversification of the German economy”

Vice Chancellor and Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, Robert Habeck, will travel to India for political talks from 19-22 July 2023. He will be accompanied by a delegation of members of the Bundestag and representatives of the business community. The trip takes place in the wake of India’s G20 presidency and will focus on trade, energy and climate policy.

Minister Habeck said: “Germany and India are important partners and we want to further expand and deepen our economic cooperation. With a population of just over 1.4 billion, India is now the world’s most populous country, which makes it a strong growth market in the Indo-Pacific region. The trip will therefore also focus on boosting resilience and diversification. Closer cooperation, especially on renewables and green hydrogen, holds great potential for both sides and can increase our resilience and economic security.”

The 3-day trip will include visits to three Indian cities: on Thursday, Minister Habeck will be in New Delhi for political talks and an economic conference. On Friday, discussions with the business community and visits to several companies in Mumbai are planned. And on Saturday, the minister will attend the G20 Energy Ministers Meeting in Goa.

The aim of the visits to Delhi and Mumbai on 20 and 21 July is to further strengthen bilateral and economic relations between India and Germany. The schedule also includes talks with India’s foreign, trade and energy ministers.
A business conference in Delhi and an exchange with Indian investors in Mumbai are to provide impetus for innovations, particularly in climate change mitigation and decarbonisation, with a view to forging even closer links between the German and Indian economies. Several company visits are intended to increase German companies’ involvement in training young people and fostering talent in India.

Following his bilateral talks in Delhi and Mumbai, Minister Habeck will travel on to Goa to attend the G20 meeting of energy ministers chaired by India on 22 July.

Germany is India’s most important trading partner in the European Union and India is Germany's most important trading partner in South and Southeast Asia. The volume of trade between Germany and India has developed positively in recent years and amounted to almost 30 billion euros in 2022. Since 2006, India and Germany have been successfully working together on energy and climate issues in the Indo-German Energy Forum.