German defence minister backs Make in India campaign

New Delhi: German defence minister Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday expressed support for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Make in India campaign aimed at expanding India’s manufacturing sector.

In New Delhi on a three-day visit, Von der Leyen also urged greater cooperation between India and Germany to fight cybercrime, which she said presented a “humongous” opportunity for both sides to pool expertise. The German minister also backed freedom of navigation in the Indian Ocean and South China Sea which came against the backdrop of China’s assertiveness in the region.

Responding to a question on how Germany could partner India to promote Make in India, Von der Leyen said there was “high interest on both sides to create a win-win situation.”

Since India wants to not just buy, but also manufacture products such as submarines in India, it is “a smart approach for both sides” to have a close cooperation, she said, after delivering a speech on “India and Europe: Shared Interests”, organized by the New Delhi-based Observer Research Foundation think-tank.

“I would welcome if the German industry and the Indian industry would engage in deeper talks concerning those issues (on) how to cooperate together, how to expand the collaboration together,” she said.

Von der Leyen’s comments followed her talks with Prime Minister Modi on Wednesday and defence minister Manohar Parrikar late on Tuesday.

In his meeting with Von der Leyen, Modi “invited German companies to take advantage of enormous opportunities of defence manufacturing and defence research and development in India. He looked forward to the visit of chancellor (Angela) Merkel later in the year,” a statement from the prime minister’s office said.

“Cooperation between the Armed Forces & partnering of #Germany in #MakeInIndia in Defence Sector were discussed,” defence ministry spokesman Sitanshu Kar tweeted after the Von der Leyen-Parrikar talks.

“Both sides exchanged views on global & regional security scenario; supply of state-of-the-art equipment/technology,” Kar said in a second tweet, without elaborating.

According to news reports, talks between Von der Leyen and Parrikar explored the possibilities of collaboration in the manufacturing of six additional diesel-electric submarines and upgradation of the Dornier aircraft used by the Navy and Coast Guard.

According to the Sweden-based Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), India, the largest arms importer in the world, has been spending billions to modernize its military. SIPRI’s Arms Transfers Database showed that Germany was the fourth largest arms exporter during 2010-2014, accounting for 5% of world deliveries.

One of the last major Indian defence purchases from Germany was in the 1980s, when India bought four submarines made by Germany’s Howaldtswerke Deutsche Werft (HDW) Group. In recent times, India has bought engines for its main battle tank Arjun besides components and sub systems for other weapons systems and submachine guns for special operations units.

India is currently constructing six Scorpene class submarines with French cooperation at Mazagon Dock in Mumbai under the supervision of the Western Naval Command. Parrikar and Von der Leyen are understood to have discussed the Rs.50,000 crore Project-75I for the construction of six more conventional submarines in an Indian shipyard with foreign collaboration.

Since Modi took office a year ago, his government has been emphasising strengthening domestic manufacturing, including in defence, which is one of the 25 areas listed under the Make in India campaign announced in September.

Last month, India was the partner country at the 2015 Hannover Messe, billed as the world’s largest industrial fair, which Modi and German chancellor Angela Merkel inaugurated together on 12 April.

When asked about China’s increased assertiveness in the South China Sea, where it is locked in disputes with its neighbours over maritime boundaries, Von der Leyen said “there is a humongous interest of all nations worldwide who are dependent on economic interaction and trade to have an open sea and therefore, we have to be very sensitive and sensible too about any attempts to dominate or close trade routes.”

Earlier in her speech, Von der Leyen spoke about India and Germany joining hands to fight cybercrime. She described as “smart strategy” on the part of India to allow its skilled IT professionals to work abroad without fears of brain drain.