Overview
- Chancellor Friedrich Merz will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Ahmedabad on January 12 for talks at Mahatma Mandir after visits to Sabarmati Ashram and the International Kite Festival.
- Merz travels to Bengaluru on January 13 to visit the Indian Institute of Science and the Bosch campus before departing later that day, with an overnight stay in Ahmedabad confirmed.
- Officials expect a joint declaration to map future defence cooperation, while a reported roughly $8 billion submarine project remains under negotiation without a planned sign-off during this trip.
- Merz is accompanied by CEOs from 25 German companies as both sides pursue expanded trade, investment and technology ties, with an EU–India summit and FTA push later this month providing momentum.
- Discussions will also cover skilled mobility and education pathways as well as global issues including the war in Ukraine, reflecting Germany’s heightened strategic interest in India.