Describing Germany and India as a “perfect match” for engaging in mutually beneficial collaboration in a host of areas, Mark Hauptmann, political scientist and member of the German Parliament, on Saturday said the time was ideal from a political and economic standpoint to further energise the bilateral relationship.
Mr. Hauptmann, who has led a German delegation to India to explore potential areas for more intense collaboration, said while from a political perspective India and Germany were headed by leaders who emerged from elections with sweeping mandates, there was also “a lot in favour of getting started from an economic viewpoint as Germany viewed India as not a developing country but a world power.”
Germany, as Europe’s economic powerhouse and a key member of the European Union, looked at India not just as a vast market to tap into, but as a strategic partner with a lot of shared values, including democracy and rights of freedoms, and “as a world power poised to reclaim its 18 century stature of contributing almost half of the world’s GDP.”
“We believe India will play a leadership role in finding solutions to 21 century challenges,” he said.
Mr. Hauptmann and his team were here to participate in a seminar hosted by the Madras Management Association.
Pointing to energy as one the areas of collaboration where Germany and India made a “perfect fit,” Mr. Hauptmann said Germany was pursuing an accelerated agenda to get rid of fossil fuels and wholly subsist on renewable sources.
Wind energy production and the large output from engineering colleges were among the factors that led the team to scope out Chennai and Puducherry.
“We love to engineer and you have engineers,” he remarked on the possible synergy that the countries could leverage in higher education. There are an estimated 10,000 Indian students pursuing education in Germany.
Pointing to the German support for founding the IIT-Madras as an example of the past, he advocated “building many more such examples in India.”
Mr. Hauptmann also proposed to facilitate FDI inflow into the MSME sector in India.
In Germany, a globally competitive MSME sector not only accounted for 80 per cent of production and 70 per cent of the workforce, but fostered innovation and smart ideas.
Germany also expects its prowess in clean coal technologies and public transportation expertise to be of collaborative value for India.
Mr. Hauptmann expected German FDI in India which was about $10 billion and the number of companies in India which was about 1,600 to go up in the near future.
On the stalled Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between India and the European Union, Mr. Hauptmann felt that 2015 could be a key year as the maiden Budget of the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi could provide important policy indicators regarding trade barriers and market access.
He pointed out that in the past partnerships entered by countries with the EU had profited both sides.
The German delegation comprised Dr. Mario Voigt, chairman of the committee for education, science and culture, Thuringia, Stefan Gruhner, MP of Thuringia, Marcus Malsch, member of the Thuringia County Council Albert Weiler, economist, Tankred Schipanski, lawyer, Christian Herrgott, former civil servant and Younes Ouaqasse, member of the Christian Democratic Union-Federal Executive Board.