- Tuesday, November 26, 2024
The news comes at a time when the defence minister of Germany, Boris Pistorius, is in India for a four-day visit starting June 5, 2023.
By: Shubham Ghosh
Companies in Germany and India are about to conclude a deal to make submarines in the South Asian nation, ET Now on Tuesday (6) reported. The news comes at a time when the defence minister of Germany, Boris Pistorius, is in India for a four-day visit starting Monday (5).
On Tuesday, Pistorius met his Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh, who said in a statement without referring to submarines, “India’s skilled workforce & competitive costs along with Germany’s high technologies & investment can further strengthen ties.”
Had fruitful discussions with the German Defence Minister, Mr Boris Pistorius. His passion for Yoga is commendable.
We discussed regional issues and our shared priorities. We also agreed to further strengthen defence co-operation between India & Germany. pic.twitter.com/W5ouqtOvIq
— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) June 6, 2023
According to a report by Bloomberg, New Delhi and Berlin are closing in on the deal as Russia’s prolonged war activities in Ukraine pushes India, its old ally, to expand sources of its military hardware beyond Moscow, its top supplier.
Citing informed sources, the Bloomberg report added that India’s Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited and Thyssenkrupp AG’s marine arm are likely to jointly bid for an estimated $5.2 billion (£50.7 million) project to make six diesel submarines for the Indian Navy.
It said the preliminary memorandum of understanding will be signed in the presence of the two nations’ defence ministers, officials from both sides said.
Pistoirus told German public broadcaster ARD that the deal will be on the agenda when he reaches Mumbai, India’s financial capital, on Wednesday (7).
The minister said his role is to “support and assist” negotiations between German executives accompanying him to India and their counterparts from the host nation.
“This would be a big and important contract not only for German industry but also for India and the Indian-German strategic partnership,” Pistorius was quoted as saying.
Neither the two companies nor the defence ministries of the two nations commented, Bloomberg added.
The report also said that the German manufacturing giant based in Kiel had shown little interest in jointly manufacturing submarines in India at the time when the tender was announced two years ago. But with the continuation of the war in Ukraine and China displaying proximity to Russia, the West and particularly Germany have backed India emerging a bulwark against the Asian giant’s increasing diplomatic and military assertiveness.
