India has been pressing for resolving the Ukraine "dispute" through dialogue and diplomacy and it stands ready to contribute to any peace process, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday after holding talks with visiting German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who stressed the need for a "clear stand" by countries in the UN on the crisis.
The one-year-old conflict and its consequences including on food and energy security figured during the talks between the leaders besides ways to ramp up overall bilateral engagement, including in areas of trade and co-development of defence platforms, with Scholz assuring his "personal" involvement in the finalisation of India-EU free trade pact.
In his statement at a joint media event with Modi, the German Chancellor described the Russian "aggression" against Ukraine as a "major catastrophe" that has negatively impacted the globe and said it is important for the countries to state "very clearly where we stand" on the war at the UN as international law governs international relations.
On his part, Modi said,"since the beginning of the developments in Ukraine, India has insisted on resolving this dispute through dialogue and diplomacy. India is ready to contribute to any peace process." Referring to the destruction in Ukraine including to its energy grids and infrastructures as well as the overall consequences of the Russian invasion and stressed that developing countries were being negatively impacted by energy and food shortages resulting from the war.
"But above all, it is a disaster, a catastrophe because we know this war violates a fundamental principle to which we had all agreed for such a long time, and that is that you do not change borders through the use of violence," he said.
"Thus, it is important that in the United Nations too, we time and again state very clearly where we stand on this subject matter,"he said.
Asked whether the comments by the German Chancellor were a message to India and whether there were divergent views between the two countries on the conflict, Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra said he only saw "understanding and appreciation" of each other's perspective on the matter.
"It was the Indian Prime Minister who openly stated in Samarkand that this is not the era for war. In the discussion, I would say, I only saw understanding and appreciation of each other's perspective," the foreign secretary told reporters at a briefing.
In a bilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Uzbek city of Samarkand in September last year, Modi said "today's era is not of war" and nudged the Russian leader to end the conflict.
On Thursday, India abstained in the UN General Assembly on a resolution that underscored the need to reach "comprehensive, just and lasting peace" in Ukraine and called for Russia to end the hostilities.
Kwatra said the focus of the talks on the Ukraine conflict was on how India and Germany can partner together to take steps that will strengthen the constituency of peace.
In his press statement, Modi also said that there has been active cooperation between India and Germany in the fight against terrorism and separatism and countries agreed that concerted action is necessary to end cross-border terrorism, seen as an apparent reference to Pakistan.
The two sides also unveiled an 'India-Germany Vision to Enhance Cooperation in Innovation and Technology' and finalised a letter of intent between the Department of Science & Technology and the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems for Cooperation in green hydrogen and clean energy technologies.
Kwatra said the overall atmosphere of discussion was "extremely positive and very engaging" in terms of enriching the specific areas of partnerships that the two countries have been focusing on and the new areas.
The two sides also took stock of the situation in the Indo-Pacific in the backdrop of increasing Chinese assertiveness.
Scholz arrived here this morning on a two-day India visit, a day after the first anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine that saw the US and its European allies renewing their resolve to strongly back Kyiv and mount pressure on Moscow including through fresh economic sanctions.
"A very important question is securing the supply of food and energy. We have to make sure that countries in Asia, Africa and America are not too strongly and negatively impacted by the terrible war of aggression that Russia started against Ukraine and that the impact is not too negative for them," the German leader said.
Modi said that "increasing cooperation between the two largest democratic economies of the world is not only beneficial for the people of both the countries, it also sends a positive message in today's tension-ridden world." The Prime Minister said the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and the Ukraine conflict have been felt across the world and they have had a particularly negative impact on developing countries.
"We expressed our shared concern about this. We agree that these problems can only be solved through joint efforts. We are stressing on this even during India's presidency of the G20," he said.
Scholz said Germany wants a deepening of trade relations between India and Europe, asserting that two-way trade and investment would go up following the finalisation of the India-EU free trade pact.
The German Chancellor suggested that he would play a role in the early finalisation of the long-pending FTA and the investment protection pact between India and the EU.
"We need to join forces in that regard and make progress together. It is especially important for one area that in my eyes is of the greatest importance and that is the development of IT and software," Scholz said.
The Prime Minister noted that security and defense cooperation can become an important pillar of the strategic partnership between India and Germany.
"Together we will continue to make efforts to fully realise our untapped potential in this area. There is active cooperation between India and Germany in the fight against terrorism and separatism. Both countries also agree that concerted action is necessary to end cross-border terrorism," he said.
Modi said that apart from being India's largest trading partner in Europe, Germany is also an important source of investment in the country.
"Today, due to the 'Make in India' and 'Self-reliant India' campaigns, new opportunities are opening up in all sectors in India. We are encouraged by the German interest in these opportunities," he said.
The Prime Minister also underlined the importance of reform of the multilateral institutions.
"We also reiterated the consensus that reform of multilateral institutions is necessary to better reflect global realities. This is evident in our active participation within the G4 to reform the UN Security Council," he said.
The G4 comprises India, Brazil, Japan and Germany and all of them are strong contenders for permanent membership of the UN Security Council.
"India and Germany are increasing mutual cooperation for the development of third countries under the triangular development cooperation," Modi said.
He said people-to-people relations between the two countries have also strengthened in the last few years with the Migration and Mobility Partnership Agreement signed in December last year and this relationship will be further deepened.
"In accordance with the requirements of the changing times, we are also adding new and modern aspects to our relations. Last year during my visit to Germany, we announced the Green and Sustainable Development Partnership," Modi said.
"Through this, we are expanding cooperation in the areas of climate action and sustainable development goals. We also decided to work together in areas like renewable energy, green hydrogen and biofuels," he added.
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