The India-Germany Foreign Office Consultations (FOC), co-chaired by Shri Vikram Misri, Foreign Secretary, Government of India and Dr. Thomas Bagger, State Secretary of German Foreign Office, were held on 15 July 2024 in New Delhi. During the visit, Dr. Thomas Bagger also called on External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar, National Security Advisor Shri. Ajit Doval and met with Defence Secretary Shri Giridhar Aramane.
During the FOC, both sides undertook a comprehensive review of the entire gamut of India-Germany bilateral relations encompassing key areas of bilateral cooperation including trade, investment, science and technology, defence, development cooperation and academic and people-to-people exchanges. They agreed to further deepen and diversify bilateral ties in key areas of contemporary relevance such as emerging technologies, digital platforms, renewable energy, green economy and extending development cooperation to third countries. The Co-chairs also held in-depth discussions and exchanged perspectives on key issues of regional and global importance.
The discussions provided an opportunity for both sides to take stock of the current status of bilateral relations and explore avenues for further deepening the India-Germany Strategic Partnership, especially in light of the upcoming 7th India-Germany Inter-Governmental Consultations (IGC) scheduled to be held in New Delhi and to be chaired at the level of Leaders of the two countries. The Co-chairs also welcomed the forthcoming Asia-Pacific Conference of German Businesses (APK) scheduled to be held in New Delhi around the IGC and expressed hope that it will lead to further intensification of bilateral business-to-business collaboration.
Both sides expressed satisfaction at the outcome of the consultations today and agreed to continue to work towards the success of the upcoming Inter-Governmental Consultations.