Von Wellx relocates to Agra from China
Global supply chains, Artificial Intelligence, Digitisation, Pharmaceutical products, Joint R&D, Testing and co-production of vaccines, and clean energy cooperation are some of the major areas to focus on future cooperation between India and Germany,
Stating this, the Indian Envoy to Germany, Mukta Dutta Tomar, said the longstanding and strategic India-Germany partnership is bound to evolve stronger in the changing geopolitical environment.
She spoke at the ASSOCHAM’s webinar “India and Germany Partners in a changing Geopolitical Environment” on 23 June 2020.
The webinar was part of ASSOCHAM’s Country webinars towards understanding the roadmap for further engagement with leading trade partners and coming up with recommendations, principles and engagement imperatives.
Highlighting major points to focus on enhancing India-Germany economic cooperation, the Ambassador also spoke about factors such as climate change, international trade tensions set afoot by US-China trade tensions and the COVID-19 pandemic that affect the emerging geopolitical environment.
An Indian-German joint venture plant would be set up in Vadodara to develop the COVID-19 vaccine, according to Bernhard Steinrücke, Director General, Indo-German Chamber of Commerce.
Steinrücke also spoke about the abundant opportunities existing in India’s manufacturing sector and mentioned how the amalgamation of the Indian manufacturing sector and the German machinery sector could be a win-win situation for both partners.
Clas Neumann, Global Senior Vice President, Head of Global SAP Labs Network, sees the potential of the Indian IT sector and how the Indo-German collaboration in IT sector could be a big boon for both the economies not only during COVID-19 pandemic but also post COVID era.
ASSOCHAM Secretary-General Deepak Sood pointed out that German footwear brand Von Wellx has announced moving its production to Agra from China.
India and Germany continued to collaborate and support social and economic activities during COVID-19 pandemic, said Sood, adding that Air India flights supplied seasonal fruits and vegetables from Indian farmers to Germany under KrishiUdan programme,
Germany was among the countries that received hydroxychloroquine tablets from India, he added, highlighting agreements/MOUs signed between India and Germany during the visit of Chancellor Merkel to New Delhi in November 2019.
The MOUs/agreements include pacts between BASF and Adani as well as major automobile companies, added C.P. Gurnani, CEO, Tech Mahindra.
He further talked about the scope of partnerships in areas like SAP, digital technology and manufacturing.
Gaurav Gupta, IAS Officer, Principal Secretary in Karnataka’s Commerce and Industries Department, shared his views on Sister States arrangement between Karnataka and Bavaria. He stated that both the states are tech capitals and share a successful 13-year long relationship.
The seventy-five minutes long webinar included panel discussions on various areas such as G2G Cooperation, Digital Economy, Manufacturing, Infrastructure & Smart Cities, Pharma& Healthcare, and Secure Communication.
Nilaya Verma, a globally renowned management consultant and Co-founder & CEO of Primus Partners, moderated the webinar which included the eminent speakers, Vivek Abraham, Vice President, Invest India Head of Fast Growth Market Strategy Group; Nilesh Auti, Digital Officer & Global Head – Manufacturing Industry Vertical at Tech Mahindra; Shailesh Pathak, Chief Executive Officer, L&T Infrastructure Development Projects Limited (L&T IDPL); Daniel Nathrath, Co-founder & Chief Executive Officer, Connect Ada (Germany); Narendra Nath, Joint Secretary, National Security Council Secretariat. fiinews.com
