Cabinet consultations Cooperation with India: Development Minister Schulze signs three agreements

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Parliamentary State Secretary Niels Annen, Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, German Development Minister Svenja Schulze and State Secretary Jochen Flasbarth at the Indo-German cabinet consultations in Berlin on 2 May 2022

Press release 2 May 2022 | Berlin – India and Germany are aiming, during today’s cabinet consultations, to deepen their cooperation. At the centre of the talks are development policy topics which are important for the future: joining forces to tackle the climate crisis, scaling up renewable energies and also agroecology approaches in the agricultural sector in India. Federal Development Minister Svenja Schulze and Indian Ministers today signed three joint declarations in connection with these topics.

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German development cooperation with India Internal link

German Development Minister Svenja Schulze said: “India is a key partner of our bilateral development cooperation. With the agreements signed today we want to lift our cooperation to a new level. The fight against poverty and the climate crisis can only be won by acting together with India. India is severely affected by the climate crisis, as the current heatwave shows. However, India also has a decisive role to play in overcoming this crisis. The issue of energy security is of key importance here. Renewable energies are ”energies for development“. That is particularly true for India. Standing at India’s side when it comes to making a just energy transition is therefore especially important to me. Apart from that, we also want to continue supporting India’s efforts to increase productivity and incomes in the agricultural sector, which is an important task – especially against the background of rising food prices due to the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. At the same time, it is clear that we can also talk openly with a close partner about critical issues like the situation of civil society.”

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Indo-German cabinet consultations in Berlin on 2 May 2022

Together with Indian Foreign Minister Jaishankar, Federal Minister Schulze signed a joint declaration of intent on the Indo-German Renewable Energy Partnership. This expands the cooperation on solar technologies first launched in 2015 and puts a key emphasis on innovation and inclusive investment. It is intended that, between 2020 and 2025, one billion euros will be made available for this.

Furthermore, Ms Schulze and S. Jaishankar also signed a Joint Declaration of Intent on Triangular Cooperation. It has thus been agreed that, with a view to reaching the world’s climate and sustainability goals, the Indian and German sides will work with countries in Africa, Asia or Latin America, sharing and providing appropriately adapted experience and technical cooperation.

With Indian Agriculture Minister Tomar, Minister Schulze agreed a lighthouse initiative on Agroecology and Sustainable Management of Natural Resources. In the period up to 2025, funds in the amount of up to 300 million euros are to be provided for this initiative.

Prime Minister Modi and Federal Chancellor Scholz today signed a Green and Sustainable Development Partnership, establishing a new and bigger framework for cooperation between India and Germany, which will ensure that it is consistently aligned with the sustainability agenda of the United Nations.

The Federal Development Ministry (BMZ) is supporting India with more than one billion euros a year. Over 90 per cent of the BMZ projects in India are helping to save greenhouse gas emissions or to make adaptations to climate change. Besides energy issues, other priority areas of German development cooperation with India have to do with sustainable urban development and green urban mobility, and with the protection and sustainable management of natural resources.