German-Indian Relations: a Partnership based on values or on interests?
In recent years, virtually no other Asian country has seen such a rise in prominence in German foreign policy as India.
Against the backdrop of China’s rise and its hegemonic ambitions, the Federal Government’s 2020 Guidelines for the Indo-Pacific identified India as one of Germany’s key partners in the region. Federal Chancellor Merz made his first trip to Asia in January 2026 to India rather than China. Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, for his part, described India as the most important strategic partner for Germany and Europe in the Indo-Pacific region. New agreements, such as those on trilateral cooperation and on migration and mobility in 2022, as well as the first fleet visits and military maneuvers, have since further deepened cooperation and thus underscore the new quality of bilateral relations. The geopolitical changes of recent years have led to a greater convergence of interests, as an analysis of the various policy areas shows.
Christian Wagner is a professor, has been a member of the Asia Research Group at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) in Berlin since 2003.
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French (pdf): Les relations germano-indiennes : un partenariat fondé sur des valeurs ou sur des intérêts ?
German (pdf): Die deutsch-indischen Beziehungen: wertegeleiteter oder interessensgeleiteter Partner?
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Notes du Cerfa, No. 191, Ifri, March 2026
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The Study Committee on Franco-German Relations (Cerfa) was created in 1954 by an inter-governmental agreement between the Federal Republic of Germany and France, in order to raise awareness of Germany in France and analyze Franco-German relations, including in their European and international dimensions. In its conferences and seminars, which bring together experts, political leaders, senior decision-makers and representatives of civil society from both countries, Cerfa develops the Franco-German debate and stimulates political proposals. It regularly publishes studies through two collections: Cerfa notes and studies as well as Franco-German visions.
Cerfa maintains close relations with the network of German foundations and think tanks. In addition to its research and debate activities, Cerfa promotes the emergence of a new Franco-German generation through original cooperation programs. This is how in 2021-2022, Cerfa led a program on multilateralism with the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Paris. This program is aimed at young professionals from both countries interested in the issues of multilateralism in the context of their activities. It covered a wide range of themes relating to multilateralism, such as international trade, health, human rights and migration, non-proliferation and disarmament. Previously, Cerfa had participated in the Franco-German future dialogue, co-led with the DGAP from 2007 to 2020, and supported by the Robert Bosch Foundation and the Daniel Vernet group (formerly the Franco-German Reflection Group) which was founded in 2014 upon the initiative of the Genshagen Foundation.
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