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Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s two-day visit to India resulted in the announcement of a joint innovation and technology vision by New Delhi and Berlin. The shared vision, which includes an emphasis on increasing industrial links and driving collaboration on advanced technology development such as AI and 6G, is the most comprehensive economic agreement inked between the two major countries to date.
“India and Germany share a responsibility for global peace, stability, sustainability, and prosperity. “Their cooperation on innovation, technology, and industry aims at benefitting humanity and is firmly guided by their shared democratic values and respect for universal human rights,” read a press release by the Ministry of External Affairs.
This is not the first time that both countries have sought deeper cooperation in the realm of technology.
“India and Germany share a long history of cooperation in science and technology, research, and innovation, institutionalised under the framework of the Inter-Governmental Agreement on “Cooperation in Scientific Research and Technological Development,” signed in May 1974. “Mirroring the overall deepening of the India-Germany Strategic Partnership, cooperation in these areas has become wider, deeper, and more comprehensive in the face of the evolving needs and skills of the two countries,” the MEA press release goes on to add.
The current connections between industry and academia are strong.
“India and Germany welcome the progress achieved by the jointly funded Indo-German Science and Technology Centre (IGSTC), under which projects have been supported in national priority areas such as advanced manufacturing, embedded systems, and ICT; sustainable energy and the environment; biotechnology and the bioeconomy; bio-medical technology and water and wastewater technology; and smart cities and e-mobility,” according to the MEA.
Berlin and New Delhi also acknowledged the close collaboration between Indian institutes such as the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR), and the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and German research organisations such as the Max Planck Society, the Helmholtz Association, and the Leibniz Association, among others.
The technological alliance will prioritise artificial intelligence, 5G, 6G, and digital technologies such as finance. Green hydrogen and clean energy will also be covered.
