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ARCHIVE - German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) is boarding a Luftwaffe aircraft to fly to the G20 summit in Johannesburg, South Africa. For the first time, a G20 summit is taking place without Trump, Putin and Xi, the three most powerful heads of state of the group of leading economies. Photo: Michael Kappeler/dpa
Keystone
China? No. Japan? Neither. Unlike his predecessors, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) has chosen India as the destination for his first major trip to Asia.
Today - eight months after taking office - he sets off on a two-day visit to the world's most populous country with more than 1.4 billion inhabitants.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi thanks him for the unusual preferential treatment with a special and very rare gesture of appreciation: he receives Merz on Monday in Ahmedabad in his home region of Gujarat, shows him a former place of activity of the national hero Mahatma Gandhi and the traditional kite festival on the Sabarmati River. Of course, the usual political talks are not to be missed.
On Tuesday, the journey continues to Bengaluru, formerly Bangalore, the center of India's high-tech industry. The focus there will be on economic cooperation between the two countries. For the first time, Merz will be accompanied by a large business delegation comprising more than 20 managers from large and medium-sized German companies. Merz will not visit the Indian capital Neul-Delhi - unusual for an inaugural visit.
In his first eight months in office, the Chancellor has mainly visited his allies in Europe and North America. Now he wants to devote more time to other regions of the world. In November, he attended the G20 and EU-Africa summits in South Africa and Angola and before that the World Climate Summit in Brazil.
Now it's off to Asia. Merz has only been to the world's largest continent briefly during his visit to Turkey last year: the capital Ankara is located in the Asian part of the country, which is a bridge state between Asia and Europe.
It is remarkable that Merz is visiting India before China, the most important sales market for the German economy in Asia, and before Japan, the only Asian partner in the G7 group of democratic economic powers. His predecessors did things differently on their first trips to Asia. Olaf Scholz (SPD) was first in Japan, then in China and only a year after taking office in India. Angela Merkel (CDU) and Gerhard Schröder (SPD) began their Asia diplomacy with double visits to Japan and China: Schröder was first in Tokyo and then flew from there to China. Merkel did the reverse. India was number three for both of them.
The fact that Merz is now making the country number one is primarily due to the current upheaval in the world order. Proven alliances such as the transatlantic alliance between Europe and North America are becoming less and less reliable. Germany is therefore seeking to broaden its partnerships and reduce its dependence on individual major powers - especially the USA in the area of security and China in terms of economic cooperation.
By choosing India as his first destination, Merz wants to live up to this claim. India has now overtaken China as the most populous country in the world and is number five among the strongest economies.
However, it is also a country that moves "between the worlds" and maintains close relations with both Russia and Western countries. Modi received Russian President Vladimir Putin in New Delhi as recently as December and is linked to Russia via the Brics group of states.
India continues to purchase Russian oil on a large scale, and Putin is using the revenues to finance his war against Ukraine. Unlike most other countries, India has not condemned this war in the UN General Assembly, but with its contacts to Russia it could perhaps be helpful in the diplomatic efforts to end the war. The Chancellor's visit will be about all of this.
India's close ties with Russia also include the fact that the Indian armed forces are still predominantly equipped by Moscow. Germany would like to help change this. For example, Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems is currently negotiating the sale of six submarines to the Indian Navy. India is also interested in the Airbus A400M transport aircraft.
No concrete deals are likely to be concluded during the Chancellor's visit. However, a declaration of intent is to be signed between the two defense ministries to strengthen cooperation between the two countries' defense companies.
Increased economic cooperation could also help to loosen India's ties with Russia. There is still room for improvement here. India is only ranked 23rd among Germany's trading partners. "In view of its economic dynamism, young population and growing industrial base, India is rapidly gaining relevance for our companies," says Volker Treier, Head of Foreign Trade at the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce (DIHK).
The conclusion of a free trade agreement between the EU and India would provide a boost. Negotiations on this began 18 years ago and were interrupted for several years in between. A conclusion at the EU-India summit planned for the end of January is not yet in sight.
The recruitment of skilled workers from India, for which the traffic light government adopted a special strategy in October 2024, will also be on the agenda again. According to the Federal Employment Agency, the number of Indians subject to social insurance contributions in Germany rose from just under 25,000 to just under 170,000 between 2015 and 2025. And at just under 60,000, the largest group of foreign students comes from India.
11.01.2026, 05:07
