In a significant boost to India-Germany relations, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that Germany will expand its annual visas for skilled Indian workers from 20,000 to 90,000. The announcement was made at the 18th Asia-Pacific Conference of German Business 2024, where PM Modi and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz highlighted mutual initiatives to strengthen economic and cultural ties.
Germany’s welcoming stance towards Indian talent was echoed by Chancellor Scholz, who noted the rapid rise of Indians in Germany’s workforce and academia. “Today, Indians form the largest group of foreign students at our universities. Last year alone, the number of Indian professionals in Germany grew by 23,000,” he remarked. Germany, he added, is implementing reforms in its visa processing with digitization, faster approvals, and user-friendly approaches aimed at facilitating skilled migration.
However, Scholz emphasized that Germany would continue to manage irregular migration strictly. “Germany is open to skilled workers, but we want to control who comes in,” he stated.
In a step furthering education collaboration, PM Modi announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between IIT Chennai and Dresden University. “An agreement for a Dual Degree program will enable our students to benefit from German expertise in skills development and vocational training,” Modi said.
The conference also underscored the countries’ commitment to a long-awaited free-trade agreement between India and the European Union, with negotiations resuming in June 2022 after an eight-year hiatus. Scholz also highlighted defense and technology as priority areas for Indo-German cooperation, aiming to strengthen military and security ties.