Amid troubled China ties, focus on stronger India-Germany relations during PM Modi's visit

'Seen from Berlin, Asia seemed to consist only of China. But that's long over. There is now an across the spectrum consensus in Germany for developing stronger ties with India,' says Reinhard Bütikofer, Member of European Parliament.

- MANISH CHAND

The new German government has clearly signalled that it wants to enhance the India relationship and that can play out in many different dimensions. There are various possibilities, including enhanced collaboration in research and more trade and investment. There is, therefore, a broad agenda for intensifying India-Germany partnership which will be in focus during PM Modi's visit to Germany."

Germany's relations with India are set for an upswing during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Berlin on 2 May, says Reinhard Bütikofer, Member of European Parliament (MEP). In this wide-ranging interview, Bütikofer, an influential MEP from Germany, speaks about the growing robust bipartisan consensus in Germany on building stronger relations with India, the world's largest democracy, and how India and Germany can partner in third countries under the EU's 3 billion euro Global Gateway programme for building infrastructure in Asia and Africa. Looking ahead, Bütikofer projects that the relations of Europe and Germany with China are headed for difficult times even as relations with India will grow stronger in days to come. Bütikofer was among the five MEPs sanctioned by China last year for opposing the ratification of the EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI). Bütikofer, one of the Co-Chairs of the European Green Party and MEP for the German Green party, was in India recently to participate in the Raisina Dialogue, the flagship conference of India's Ministry of External Affairs, co-hosted by the Observer Research Foundation. Excerpts from the interview.

Q: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be in Berlin on 2 May for his first meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. What do you expect from this visit?