German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and some members of his cabinet are in India for talks aimed at strengthening ties between Europe's largest economy and the world's most populous nation. Germany hopes to attract more skilled young Indians to boost its workforce.
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00:00When a German minister arrives in India early in the morning and the first thing he does
00:07is visit a school, it's clear this is more than just a courtesy visit.
00:13This public high school in Delhi's east isn't just any institution, it's preparing students
00:18for a three-year vocational training program in Germany.
00:22The German government and major industry players back the partnership.
00:27Delhi's labor minister calls it win-win for both countries.
00:34Germany has a lack of skilled labor force, India is a very young society, there are one
00:39million young Indians per month entering the labor market and so we try to win them to
00:48make some of them to make their way in Germany and like these young girls here want to make
00:55a vocational training in Germany and so we have to find a way to make it less bureaucratic
01:02and to support them.
01:04Germany's aging population means they need skilled young workers from abroad to make
01:08up labor shortages.
01:10India for its part has millions of young people looking for jobs and the challenge of upskilling
01:15its workforce.
01:20Easing migration to Germany and more direct German investment in India are high on the
01:25agenda of this year's bilateral government consultations in Delhi.
01:30For years, Germany has prioritized China in its Asian economic and strategic policy.
01:37But the war in Ukraine and China's military assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific region have
01:42forced Berlin and Delhi to reassess things, says India's leading expert on German affairs.
01:48In an arena where geopolitics is dictating your political choices, your economic investments,
01:56does India appear to be on the German strategic lens and vice versa, does Germany appear on
02:03India's strategic lens?
02:05And I think that's where we have to do a little bit more work to make it strategic.
02:11According to this new policy paper from Germany's foreign office, things are set to change.
02:17It says Germany sees India as a democratic partner for stability and security and wants
02:22to tap into India's growing influence in the global south.
02:26It also makes clear that Germany wants to be a reliable security partner for India.
02:31Recent case in point, Germany's first ever joint air drill in August with the Indian
02:37Air Force.
02:38India wants to reduce its dependence on Russian arms supplies and Germany is not only willing
02:43to deliver advanced weaponry, but also to help India make weapons at home, this despite
02:50its historic friendship with Russia.
02:53I think we have a lot of area in which we will find political convergence, a lot of
02:59sound business sense, economic sense, and take forward a new chapter on defence relationships.
03:09We can be a force for good.
03:12There seems to be a growing desire on both sides to upgrade the strategic partnership,
03:17especially since they share similar concerns about China.