Germany’s New Focus On India – Analysis
Just one week ahead of the annual intergovernmental consultations, the German government published its first strategic document solely focused on its engagement with India. Although not officially labelled a strategy, the paper’s cabinet-level-involvement and clear prioritisation of policy domains make “Focus on India” a comprehensive manual outlining Germany’s planned approach towards India.
In laying out Germany’s ideas about the imagined future of Indo-German foreign, security, and trade relations, the public document has both a domestic and an external function. Domestically, the key role of “Focus on India” is to bring all government departments on the same page. Externally, it sends a strong message of assurance to India, signalling the high standing India currently enjoys among political decision-makers in Germany.
The “new focus”: A result of geopolitical threats
While trade, migration, and technology cooperation have undoubtedly become more significant for German-Indian relations, security concerns have recently introduced a strategic depth into the partnership. For the past few years, both partners have been geopolitically threatened by revisionist powers. The Galwan skirmishes with China in 2020 made India rethink its China policy.
For Germany, Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 challenged the “Wandel durch Handel” (change through trade) approach towards Russia. Furthermore, subsequent attempts to condemn Russia’s behaviour at the United Nations (UN) illustrated to Germany how strong and long-standing New Delhi’s partnership with Moscow has been in the past. Neighbourhood challenges were central for both Germany and India to find new interest in each other as they sought to identify new partners as well as diversify their external dependencies.
India’s behaviour towards Russia posed a dilemma for Germany’s foreign policy. On the one hand, the German government realised that India was not a geopolitical ally when it came to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. On the other hand, Germany viewed India as a key strategic partner in the Indo-Pacific and an important representative of the Global South. In other words, Germany had to consider how to deal with a partner that also partners with its geopolitical rival. India’s multi-aligned preferences have, in particular, been at odds with Germany’s established strategic practice, which centres on treaty-based alliance cooperation. The first-ever public strategic document by Germany to describe foreign policy priorities towards India can be read as a recognition of India’s relevance in balancing China, as well as the complexities of dealing with a strategically autonomous India.
Strategic depth through security cooperation
“Focus on India” fulfils two functions: firstly, it offers a comprehensive inventory of the existing partnership, covering policy domains as diverse as judicial, civil society, and sub-national cooperation. Secondly, and perhaps more relevant for the upcoming government consultations, the Federal Foreign Office-led approach aims to advance new partnership propositions. Three sets of suggestions stand out: the upsizing of government consultations, the willingness to become a major security partner, and a more strategic view on climate and energy cooperation.
If the suggestions from the federal government in Berlin are enacted, the bilateral relations could soon become far more comprehensive. A key proposition is introducing the Indo-German dialogue forum to enrich the bi-annual government consultations with more input and feedback. While the dialogue forum is proposed to become the overarching discussion platform, “Focus on India” emphasises the need to expand on former or existing dialogues across several issues, ranging from cybersecurity to climate policy. What is not mentioned, however, is the required structure to manage the multitude of dialogues. The most feasible path appears to be that all sectoral dialogue formats are forth on held as sub-tracks of the overarching dialogue forum. At least some coordination between the dialogue forum and the policy tracks will be needed to ensure efficiency and coherence.
The strategic document’s most significant policy announcements relate to bilateral security relations. Most far-reaching, the German Federal Government seeks to establish an agreement on reciprocal logistical support between the German and Indian armed forces. The proposition ties into Germany’s interest in strengthening India’s defensive capacities in the Indo-Pacific and reducing its military dependence on Russia. Germany’s interest to second a Bundeswehr liaison officer to the Information Fusion Centre for the Indian Ocean Region in New Delhi underlines the growing interest in understanding India’s concerns in the Indo-Pacific. These efforts build on Germany’s broader Indo-Pacific approach published in 2020 and its commissioning of a frigate into the region in 2021. The document’s commitment to ease arms export control procedures, however, raises more questions than it answers. While the announcement aligns with the prevailing tonality of “Focus on India”, the types of arms are not specified, which could fuel domestic debates in Germany about the scope of its new arms export policy to India. A narrower focus on arms cooperation to advance each other’s defensive capabilities may be more realistic.
A final novelty of “Focus on India” is the strategic depth which it provides to the partnership by drawing connections between interests in different policy areas. The most remarkable example is the direct linkage of climate cooperation and energy security. Publicly linking these two goals indicates that the rationale of Germany’s development partnership with India could become far more geo-economically aware. The proposed dialogue platform would be an ideal venue to explore further synergies between policy domains.
Beyond good vibes
“Focus on India” combines an interests-based approach with a good amount of pragmatism. In areas where cooperation is already increasing, like in security, climate, and technology policy, the German government makes pertinent new suggestions. However, in areas where the partnership previously faced challenges, like in multilateral cooperation or the EU-India Free Trade Agreement, the strategic document does not pitch completely new ideas.
Essentially, “Focus on India” addresses the bilateral partnership by reinforcing those policy domains where Germany already sees progress and opportunities. The advantage of such an approach is that the strategic document can certainly prove a useful conversation starter for the seventh governmental consultation this week. For the strategic partnership to mature more progressively and withstand pressure, however, frank discussions on the areas of discern remain paramount. This includes a clear idea of each other’s red lines as well as an understanding of the involved risks for the partnership.
It is therefore important that the suggested Indo-German dialogue forum, if implemented, becomes a multistakeholder platform in which candid conversations about progress as much as challenges are invited to take place. Equally important, Germany’s approach can benefit from and learn from the experiences of EU-India relations, which remain pivotal in shaping trade relations between the two powers.