New Delhi, October 9
Jens-Michael Bopp, Head of Division, skilled immigration, Federal Foreign Office, Germany on Wednesday spoke about the skilled immigration from India to Germany and emphasised that the government views facilitating migration as a key task, aiming to streamline the process for those interested in working in Germany.
The remarks by Bopp came ahead of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's visit to India scheduled to be held in October.
While speaking with ANI, Bopp said that the visit of Scholz will give an opportunity to strengthen bilateral ties between India and Germany.
He said, "The government consultations between India and Germany will give our two governments a good opportunity to take stock on the successes that have been achieved since the signing of the MMPA (Migration and Mobility Partnership) two years ago and will also give an opportunity to strengthen the cooperation that is already strong between our two countries and one of the factors is to encourage and enhance additional skilled immigration from India to Germany..."
He added, "We see it as our task to facilitate migration and make it easy for people who are interested in working in Germany, to connect with potential employers or universities and then ease the process to make that happen."
He further said, "But I'm aware that especially with regard to India, a lot of companies are very interested. I know a number of German states are present in India with offices representing their home economy and so there are a lot of matching exercises going on that as a federal government we want to support and encourage."
Earlier on Tuesday, German Ambassador to India, Philipp Ackermann that the second half of October would be a kind of 'German Mohotsav,' when Scholz will visit India for the Inter-Governmental Consultations (IGC).
Scholz is expected to arrive in New Delhi with a large delegation comprising around seven to eight ministers, the envoy said.
Speaking to ANI, Ackermann said, "Basically, what we are going to have is a kind of a German Mohotsav. I would say that at the end of October, we'll have the intergovernmental consultations, where, indeed the Chancellor and seven - eight ministers will travel to Delhi. We have, at the same time, the Asia Pacific conference of the German business. And you'll have a lot of very very high-ranking German CEOs coming to Delhi in order to discuss German business in India and Asia."
"So basically, the last second half of October will be very German. And I'm very happy to receive so many different German elements. India will be a fabulous host, and as usual, we are looking forward to it," he added.
Highlighting the defence cooperation between India and Germany, the envoy stated, "We have significantly improved our presence here when it comes to the military-strategic cooperation in India."
Notably, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday had a telephonic conversation with his German counterpart Boris Pistorius during which they reviewed the ongoing defence cooperation activities, including exercises in the air and maritime domains.The two leaders discussed ways to further strengthen the defence-industrial collaboration and enhance supply chain resilience.
Scholz visited India in February 2023 leading a high-level business delegation comprising CEOs of major German companies. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz jointly addressed a Business Round table comprising top industry leaders from both sides.
The visit saw the release of a common paper titled "India-Germany Vision to Enhance Cooperation in Innovation and Technology" by both sides. Scholz was in New Delhi for the G20 summit as well which was hosted by India in September last year.
In 2022, PM Modi visited Berlin as part of the 6th Indo-German Inter-Governmental Consultations (IGC). During their talks, the two heads of government acknowledged the importance of digital transformation as a key driver for technological, economic and societal change.Furthermore, Modi and Scholz had signed a Joint Declaration of Intent (JDI) establishing a Green and Sustainable Development Partnership.
Notably, India was also among the first countries to establish diplomatic ties with Germany after the Second World War. The two nations marked the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations in 2021.