On June 9th 350 participants from India and Germany gathered in Düsseldorf to review and discuss German Indian business relations.
Indian German business relations were reviewed. They are benefitting from the community of common values as Prime Minister Singh and chancellor Merkel have have expressed it at their meeting last week.
One of the key issues of the meeting was the Free trade agreement between the EU and India which is currently under negotiation.
Experts close to the process reported a prevailing optimism that the political will is there to finalize the negotiation for what is the most ambitious bilateral trade agreement for both the EU and India. Among the main challenges are tariff is the full elimination of duties on industrial goods. Agriculture presents a second challenge given India’s need to the take care of a 600 million rural population. In the context o the Free trade agreement Public procurement is another issue as it is very relevant to foreign direct investment in infrastructure badly needed by India. The PPP models aimed at require the opening up of public procurement.
There are many facets of the Indo German relations. India’s 600 Million workforce presents a tremendous chance in face of a declining German population. At the same time these mass of young people need to be put to work. A key success factor is thus the education and training. German’s dual system for vocational training is a major success factor and needs to be applied more in India. There are many opportunities for joint education and training activities.
The intergovernmental consultation involving five cabinet ministers from each side led by Chancelleor Merkel and Prime Minister Singh provided an encouraging signal for the further improvement of Indo German relations. Related to the skills development challenges 5 MOUs on skill development were signed at that occasion.
For further information: http://indien.ahk.de/ and Jörg Fromme, DFIC Management Consultants Pvt. Ltd.
