The inclusion of the word ‘Indo’ has finally found its way into the German nomenclature and is a major shift from the traditional German perception of China being the most dominant force in the region. The policy guidelines recently introduced by the German Foreign ministry, comes at a time when Germany has assumed the presidency of the European Union and aims to diversify its engagement with countries along the Pacific and Indian oceans.

Last week, the German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas issued a 40-page policy guideline document for the Indo-Pacific region called ‘Germany-Europe-Asia: Shaping the 21st Century Together’.

While the US, France, and Japan have long been using the term ‘Indo-Pacific’ as a geographical and strategic construct in foreign and security policy discourse, the European economic powerhouse has finally included India in its policy framework – a welcome and wise move.

Germany’s Growing Interest To Broaden Strategic Participation & What It Means For India

At a time when the big economies of the world are coping with plummeting GDPs, this document brings good news for India. With a GDP of USD 3.9 trillion, Germany stands tall as the world’s fourth largest economy, and the scope of its growth has a better prognosis than most developed countries. To sustain this growth, Germany also requires diversifying its interests, specifically in Asia.

Germany’s new Indo-Pacific strategy seeks to broaden its participation in “Asia’s growth dynamics and in being involved in shaping the Indo-Pacific region, as well as in upholding global norms in regional structures” – while being a proponent of a “rules-based international order”.

With France and the UK strengthening economic, strategic, and historical connections with India, Germany now completes the third and the most valuable addition to the triangle of European engagement with India. The presence of German companies such as Siemens, ThyssenKrupp, Bosch, etc, for more than a century, has significantly contributed to major technological advancements at the grassroots-level. However, surprisingly, while France enjoys a sturdy reputation of being India’s ‘friend in need’, it is actually Germany that wins hands down when it comes to trade and economic investments – official figures speak for themselves.

In 2019, the India-France bilateral trade stood at 11.59 bn Euros, while the Indo-German trade – alone between January and November 2019 – stood at 19.35 bn Euros.

A Big Step Towards Indian Partnership For Pursuing Germany’s Strategic Interests The Region

Germany’s foreign policy until now was clearly guided by its economic and trade interests. The mention of Asia was largely equated with China, and India hardly occupied a space among the popular German mind set. While countries like France and the UK had long built a deeper understanding of the complexities of the Asian region, somehow, Germany was yet to grasp the importance of India’s strategic role in the continent and the new world order. Therefore, the policy guideline is a big step to include India as a strong partner for pursuing Germany’s strategic interests in the region. The document clearly identifies India as “another Indo-Pacific power which could become the fourth largest economy in a few years from now”.

Seeing the developments in China as well as US’s growing pressure to move away from it, Germany, now needs to secure its business interests by diversifying in this region. Long standing relationships with China cannot be ignored. Till June 2020 alone, German exports to China have surpassed 8.3 billion Euros. It is however no longer ‘convenient’ for Germany to put all its eggs in the Chinese basket.

China has ‘ease of doing business’, but comes with a poor record in the context of human rights violations as observed in Hong Kong, Taiwan and its increasing hegemony in the South-China sea.