India has been insisting for resolving the Ukraine crisis through dialogue and diplomacy from the start and is ready to contribute to any peace process, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday (February 25) at a joint press briefing in New Delhi with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who began his two-day visit to the country earlier in the day.
“Since the beginning of the developments in Ukraine, India has laid emphasis on resolving this dispute through dialogue and diplomacy. India is ready to contribute to any peace process,” Modi said while addressing the briefing.
Deepening of trade and defence ties remains in focus as Scholz visits India for the first time after assuming charge as the European nation’s leader in December 2021. His arrival, a day after the first anniversary of the Ukraine war, signals Delhi’s growing importance to Western powers, seeking backing for their opposition to Russia’s invasion.
In his remarks, Modi also laid emphasis on action against terrorism and climate crisis. “There is active cooperation between India and Germany in the fight against terrorism and separatism. Both countries also agree that concrete action is necessary to end cross-border terrorism,” he added.
“Apart from being our largest trading partner in Europe, Germany is also an important source of investment in India. In the last few years. India and Germany are working together on green and sustainable partnerships, climate action and sustainable development goals, green hydrogen and biofuel,” Modi underlined, stressing that “the strong ties are based on shared democratic values and deep understanding of each other’s interests.”
Recalling his last visit to India, the German Chancellor said, “A lot has changed since I visited India last time. India is indeed developing. I and PM Modi have similar ideas. We have been cooperative; we have been discussing matters. I am pleased that India has the presidency of G20 this year.”
The two world leaders last met at the G7 summit in June 2022. “Ukraine-Russia is a major catastrophe because we know this war violates the economic principles that we all agreed to. The world is suffering because of the consequences of Russia’s aggression,” Scholz pointed out.
The German leader is also expected to pursue a $5.2 billion deal with India to jointly build six conventional submarines, news agency Reuters reported, citing people aware of the details. On Saturday morning, after he was received by Union Minister Pankaj Chaudhary, Scholz was accorded a ceremonial welcome at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, the President’s House.
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Accompanied by top German officials and high-powered delegation, the Chancellor will be visiting India’s southern city of Bengaluru on Sunday, which is hailed as the country’s tech capital. “We need talent, we need skilled workers. The development of IT and software is booming in India, and many capable companies are here in India. India has so much talent and we want to benefit from that corporation. We want to recruit, and attract that talent in Germany,” Scholz said on Saturday. About 1,800 German companies are active in India and have given thousands of job, he further underlined.
At the Munich Security Conference earlier this month, Scholz echoed India’s Foreign Minister S Jaishankar’s views when he said: “Europe has to get out of the mindset that Europe’s problems are the world’s problems but the world’s problems are not Europe’s problems”. Jaishankar made similar remarks last year amid the Ukraine war and growing sanctions against Russia.
New Delhi has a long history of defence ties with Moscow, and it has also resisted the pressure to stop fuel import from Russia amid widening rifts between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Western leaders. While India has abstained from voting against Russia at the United Nations, it has been insisting on peaceful resolution of differences ever since the Ukraine war started on February 24, 2022. The conflict, one of the worst in Europe in decades, has led to surge in food and fuel prices worldwide.
(With inputs from agencies)
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