New Delhi: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz cautioned on Friday (October 25) that a Russian victory in Ukraine would “endanger” global prosperity and, along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, expressed “deepest concern” and urged a “comprehensive, just and lasting peace”.
On the first day of Scholz’s visit, he and Modi jointly opened the 18th Asia-Pacific Conference of German Business and then co-chaired inter-governmental consultations.
At the business meet, Scholz spoke about the dangers posed by global conflict hotspots.
“In the multi-polar world, there are no global policemen, no single watchdog monitoring our common rules. If Russia were to succeed with its illegal brutal war against Ukraine, there would be repercussions far beyond Europe’s borders. Such an outcome would endanger global security and prosperity as a whole,” he said.
The Indian prime minister, who shared the dais with Scholz, had just returned a day earlier from a visit to Russia to attend the BRICS summit.
Scholz added that there is a need to “do whatever we can do to bring about the political solutions to these conflicts”. There is a need to match words with deeds, he added.
Later, he told the German media that reports of North Korean troops joining the Russian military campaign as claimed by Ukraine, South Korea and the United States was very worrying. “You can’t underestimate that,” he said. “This is of course something that further escalates the situation.”
Modi said that the conflicts in Ukraine and West Asia posed a concern for both nations. At a joint press appearance with Scholz after their formal talks, he stated, “India has always been of the view that war cannot be a solution to problems. India is ready to make every possible contribution for the restoration of peace.”
The joint statement expressed “deepest concern” over the war in Ukraine, highlighting its adverse impact on the global economy and food security.
Emphasising the need for a “just and lasting peace” in Ukraine, the joint statement also condemned the threat of nuclear weapon use as unacceptable and called on all states to refrain from threats or force against the territorial integrity, sovereignty or political independence of any state.
On Gaza, the joint statement condemned the October 7 terror attack by Hamas and expressed concern over the large-scale loss of civilian lives and the humanitarian crisis in the coastal strip, while urging for an immediate ceasefire.
Stating the conflict should not spill into a regional war, India and Germany “called on all regional players to act responsibly and with restraint”.
“The leaders reaffirmed their commitment to a negotiated two-state solution, leading to the establishment of a sovereign, viable and independent state of Palestine, living within secure and mutually recognised borders, side by side in dignity and peace with Israel, taking into account Israel’s legitimate security concerns,” said the joint statement.
Overall, eight agreements were inked, including one for employment, labour and skill development.
Germany has agreed to increase the number of visas granted annually to skilled Indian workers to 90,000 from 20,000. It has also pledged to remove red tape in the application process and make the recognition of qualifications easier.
“The message is that Germany is open for skilled workers,” Scholz said. The chancellor said there had been “good progress” on attracting skilled labour, with nearly 250,000 Indians now living in Germany.
Indians were working “in the sectors where we need them most urgently – whether in medicine, in nursing care or the IT sector,” he said.
India and Germany signed an earlier migration agreement two years ago to allow greater mobility for professionals and students.
Figures released on Thursday showed that Indians were the most likely national group to find work in Germany under a new “opportunity card” scheme.
Almost 2,500 migrants have successfully applied to enter Germany to find work since June under the coalition government’s scheme.
The German interior ministry said it had registered almost 550 successful applications each month since the measure, which allows skilled workers to arrive in Germany to look for employment, was introduced.
Of the overall total, there were 780 successful applications from India, followed by China, Turkey and Pakistan.
Scholz also pushed for negotiations between the EU and India for a free trade agreement to be accelerated and called for “swift progress and a rapid conclusion” to the talks that began in 2007.
“I am sure that if we work on this together, prime minister, this could happen in months rather than years,” he said on Friday, turning towards Modi.
After the talks, Scholz is slated to travel to Goa, where the German naval frigate Baden-Württemberg and combat support ship Frankfurt am Main will make a pre-scheduled port call as part of Germany’s Indo-Pacific deployment.
“The visit of a German frigate to India as well as to Japan, Korea and Southeast Asian countries underlines our commitment to open seas and international law,” Scholz said on Friday.
“At our intergovernmental consultations with India, we also want to deepen our cooperation on defence and agree to bring our militaries closer together,” he added.
Both countries are currently negotiating a defence logistics support agreement.
Germany’s ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems is vying for a mammoth six-submarine deal with the Indian navy, but Spanish company Navantia is also a competitor.
At a press conference, Indian foreign secretary Vikram Misri said that the German side did raise the submarine deal.
“Obviously, yes. The German side is interested in this issue and there was a reference made on this, but I think it would be very difficult to say anything until such time as a commercial agreement is concluded between the two sides on this issue,” he said.
With inputs from DW.
