Germany vowed to dramatically increase the number of skilled Indians it allows to work in the country as Prime Minister Narendra Modi hosted Chancellor Olaf Scholz in New Delhi on Friday.

The German leader is on his third visit to India since last year, bringing several cabinet ministers for talks between leaders of the world’s third- and fifth-largest economies.

His administration agreed to increase the number of visas granted annually to skilled Indian workers to 90,000 from 20,000.

“The message is that Germany is open to skilled workers,” Scholz said.

Modi hailed the agreement as an economic boon for both countries.

“When India’s dynamism and Germany’s precision meet, when Germany’s engineering and India’s innovation meet… a better future is decided for the Indo-Pacific and the entire worldhe said.

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India and Germany first signed a migration agreement two years ago to facilitate the mobility of professionals and students.

Berlin also pledged to make the visa application process less bureaucratic and improve the recognition of Indian professional qualifications in Germany.

Scholz arrived in India late on Thursday, following a state visit in February 2023 and the G20 summit in New Delhi later that year.

India’s foreign ministry said this week that the partnership between both countries had “deepened” over the years.

Germany and India are defense partners, and navies from both sides undertook a “maritime partnership exercise” earlier this week in the Indian Ocean.

The inaugural exercise was aimed at “further strengthening the maritime connectivity between the two nations and the interoperability between the navies,” an Indian Navy statement said on Thursday.

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“More cooperation”

“We also want to deepen our defense cooperation and agree to bring the militaries closer together,” Scholz said. “Our overall message is clear: we need more cooperation, not less.”

But the two countries differ because of their ties to Russia.

While Germany strongly supports UkraineModi attended a BRICS summit this week where he hugged Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Unlike Germany, Modi’s government has maintained long-standing ties with Moscow, even as courts grow closer. security partnerships with its Western allies.

Scholz’s visit also discussed India’s ambitious program to increase production of “green hydrogen,” a clean energy source in demand in Germany as Russian oil and gas supplies dwindle and Berlin tries to and fulfill climate objectives.

Representatives of both countries agreed on a bilateral “Green Hydrogen Roadmap” on Friday, the details of which have not yet been released.

Scholz and his team are expected to travel to Goa on Saturday to inspect the naval vessels before returning to Germany in the evening.

Source: AFP