Expanding Indo-German partnership: ‘India’ a part of the new coalition Treaty in Germany

The recent German elections have resulted in a tripartite coalition forming for the first time. The coalition formed among social democrats, greens and liberals has finalised its deal for governing the country and outlined their way ahead in a coalition document released in Berlin in late November.

This document contains a strong reference to India and the importance of strengthening the Indo-German strategic partnership. India is mentioned very prominently in the coalition treaty, signalling the ever growing importance of the partnership between the two countries.

"Germany sees India as a central partner for solving the world’s biggest challenges: Questions of energy, climate change, food security and international peace. The incumbent German government has thus stressed on continuity of the policy towards India, as set forth by Chancellor Angela Merkel for 16 years," according to a statement issued by the German Embassy.


The historically strong ties between the two countries have been further strengthened by the ‘strategic partnership’ agreement signed in 2001. The coalition treaty says that this strategic partnership will be strengthened. The Indo-German relations were further deepened with the establishment of Intergovernmental Consultations between the heads of state and their respective cabinets.

Germany is also one of the three European countries that have official policy guidelines on the Indo Pacific region, published last year. Together with France, Germany pushed at EU-level for a European Union’s Indo-Pacific Strategy which was released in April 2021.

The coalition agreement includes an extensive section about the Indo-Pacific and why it’s important for German foreign policy. Furthermore the agreement clearly mentions the importance of an intensive dialogue on peace and security in the Indo-Pacific region. India is also mentioned in the context of the EU-India Connectivity Partnership as well as the Free Trade Agreement (FTA).

"The coalition marks the beginning of a new era in German politics, as Chancellor Angela Merkel is not running for office anymore after 16 years being the Chancellor of Germany. The fact that India finds a mention in the new and unprecedented three-party coalition shows the growing significance of India and the region for Germany’s foreign policy," according to the statement.