German Chancellor Olaf Scholz discusses pact on military logistics support during his visit to India

A logistics arrangement deal between the armed forces for cooperation and joint exercises in one of the two countries or the surrounding maritime domains is in the works, said Jasper Wieck, political director in the German Ministry of Defence

India and Germany are close to finalising a memorandum of arrangement for logistics arrangement between the armed forces, according to a senior German official. With focus on expanding maritime security cooperation, Germany is set to post a liaison officer at the Indian Navy’s Information Fusion Centre for Indian Ocean Region in Gurugram.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz arrived in India on Thursday(October 24, 2024) night on an official visit accompanied by eight senior Ministers. He is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday(October 25, 2024) morning.

A memorandum of arrangement for logistics arrangement between the armed forces for cooperation and joint exercises in one of the two countries or the surrounding maritime domains is in the works, said Jasper Wieck, political director in the German Ministry of Defence. “With the likelihood that this arrangement will also facilitate co-development and co-production and joint research...,” he said.

Mr. Wieck was speaking at the India-German defence industry dialogue organised by the Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers.

Pushing for co-development and co-production of defence equipment, he said they have specific areas in mind. Underwater technology, which brings in the Project-75I programme of the Indian Navy for six conventional submarines in which Germany’s TKMS is competing with Navantia of Spain, is one of them.

Other areas are cruise missiles, with MBDA as a potential partner, and drones. An agreement for peacekeeping training agreement between respective agencies in both countries is also on the anvil.

Last week, the German Government had adopted a focus document on India which says that Germany wants to be a reliable partner to India, Mr. Wieck said.

Officials said that Germany is keen on repair and maintenance of German ships in the region in India, on the lines of U.K. and U.S., which have been leveraging the logistics agreement for this purpose.

Stressing on the importance attached by Germany in deepening partnership with India, officials said that since the visit of German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius in June 2023, a lot of export licences have been given. Over 95% of the licences have been cleared, the German envoy Philipp Ackermann said on Wednesday (October 23, 2024).

Mr. Modi and Mr. Scholz will address the 18th Asia-Pacific Conference of German Business 2024 with about 800 CEOs of various companies attending. The two sides will hold talks as part of the 7th Inter-Governmental Consultations and a number of agreements are expected to be concluded.

Coinciding with the high-level visit, a German frigate Baden-Württemberg and a tanker Frankfurt Am Main undertook a maritime partnership exercise with Indian Navy’s destroyer INS Delhi in the Indian Ocean. The exercises conducted include cross deck flying operations, underway replenishment, weapon firing and tactical manoeuvres, the Indian Navy said. “The maiden maritime partnership exercise in the Bay of Bengal is aimed at further strengthening the maritime connect between the two nations and interoperability between the navies,” it stated.

As reported by The Hindu earlier, India has signed a series of logistics agreements with Quad countries, France, Singapore, South Korea and Vietnam among others. These are administrative arrangements facilitating access to military facilities for exchange of fuel and provisions on mutual agreement simplifying logistical support and increasing operational turnaround of the military when operating away from India. All logistics agreements are reciprocal and non-binding.

Published - October 24, 2024 10:31 pm IST