00:00When a German minister arrives in India early in the morning and the first thing he does
00:07is visit a school, it's clear this is more than just a courtesy visit.
00:13This public high school in Delhi's east isn't just any institution, it's preparing students
00:18for a three-year vocational training program in Germany.
00:22The German government and major industry players back the partnership.
00:27Delhi's labor minister calls it win-win for both countries.
00:34Germany has a lack of skilled labor force, India is a very young society, there are one
00:39million young Indians per month entering the labor market and so we try to win them to
00:48make some of them to make their way in Germany and like these young girls here want to make
00:55a vocational training in Germany and so we have to find a way to make it less bureaucratic
01:02and to support them.
01:04Germany's aging population means they need skilled young workers from abroad to make
01:08up labor shortages.
01:10India for its part has millions of young people looking for jobs and the challenge of upskilling
01:15its workforce.
01:20Easing migration to Germany and more direct German investment in India are high on the
01:25agenda of this year's bilateral government consultations in Delhi.
01:30For years, Germany has prioritized China in its Asian economic and strategic policy.
01:37But the war in Ukraine and China's military assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific region have
01:42forced Berlin and Delhi to reassess things, says India's leading expert on German affairs.
01:48In an arena where geopolitics is dictating your political choices, your economic investments,
01:56does India appear to be on the German strategic lens and vice versa, does Germany appear on
02:03India's strategic lens?
02:05And I think that's where we have to do a little bit more work to make it strategic.
02:11According to this new policy paper from Germany's foreign office, things are set to change.
02:17It says Germany sees India as a democratic partner for stability and security and wants
02:22to tap into India's growing influence in the global south.
02:26It also makes clear that Germany wants to be a reliable security partner for India.
02:31Recent case in point, Germany's first ever joint air drill in August with the Indian
02:37Air Force.
02:38India wants to reduce its dependence on Russian arms supplies and Germany is not only willing
02:43to deliver advanced weaponry, but also to help India make weapons at home, this despite
02:50its historic friendship with Russia.
02:53I think we have a lot of area in which we will find political convergence, a lot of
02:59sound business sense, economic sense, and take forward a new chapter on defence relationships.
03:09We can be a force for good.
03:12There seems to be a growing desire on both sides to upgrade the strategic partnership,
03:17especially since they share similar concerns about China.
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