NEW DELHI: Germany promised to dramatically boost the number of skilled Indians it permits to work in the country as Prime Minister Narendra Modi hosted Chancellor Olaf Scholz in New Delhi on Friday.

The German leader is on his third visit to India since last year, bringing several cabinet ministers for discussions between the leaders of the world’s third- and fifth-largest economies. His administration agreed to increase the number of visas granted annually to skilled Indian workers to 90,000, up from 20,000.

“The message is that Germany is open for skilled workers,” Scholz said. Modi hailed the agreement as an economic boon to both countries. “When India’s dynamics and Germany’s precision meet, when Germany’s engineering and India’s innovation meet... a better future is decided for the Indo-Pacific and the entire world,” he said.

India and Germany first signed a migration agreement two years ago to facilitate mobility for professionals and students. Berlin has also pledged to make its visa application process less bureaucratic and to improve the recognition of Indian professional qualifications in Germany.

Scholz arrived in India late on Thursday, following a state visit in February 2023 and the G20 summit in New Delhi later that year. India’s foreign ministry said this week that the partnership between both countries had “deepened” over the years.

Germany and India are defense partners, and naval forces from both sides undertook a “maritime partnership exercise” earlier this week in the Indian Ocean. The maiden exercise was aimed at “further strengthening the maritime connect between the two nations and interoperability between the navies”, a statement from India’s navy read Thursday.

“We also want to deepen our cooperation on defense and agree to bring our militaries closer together,” Scholz said. “Our overall message is clear: We need more cooperation not less.” But the two countries diverge over ties with Russia and its war with Ukraine. While Germany strongly backs Kyiv, Modi this week attended a BRICS summit where he embraced Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In contrast to Germany, Modi’s government has maintained its longstanding ties with Moscow even as it also courts closer security partnerships with its Western allies. While in New Delhi, Scholz said reports that Russia could soon send North Korean troops to fight in Ukraine were “very worrying”.

“It is serious and, of course, something that escalates the situation further,” he said.

“At the same time, it also shows that the Russian president is in dire straits. He has now allied himself with countries whose behavior he once strongly criticized.” Scholz’s visit also covered India’s ambitious program to scale up production of “green hydrogen”, a clean energy source in demand in Germany as Russian oil and gas supplies have shrunk and Berlin seeks to meet its climate goals. Representatives of both countries agreed on a bilateral “Green Hydrogen Road Map” on Friday, the details of which have yet to be published. Scholz and his team are expected to travel to Goa on Saturday to inspect naval vessels before returning to Germany in the evening. – AFP