New Delhi, Sep 3 (IANS) Amid significant and far-reaching changes on the global strategic landscape, India and Germany will work towards doubling the bilateral trade, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar said on Wednesday, adding that together, they would like India-EU free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations to move to a decisive conclusion soon. Bilateral trade has grown significantly over the past decade between the two nations, reaching a record high of around $33.4 billion (28 billion euros) in 2024. In a press briefing with visiting German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, EAM Jaishankar said that in one of his earlier interviews, his German counterpart had said he was very confident that "we would be doubling our trade" with India.

"Let me assure him that India fully reciprocates that sentiment. We look forward to working with the German government towards this. I want to reiterate that we remain fully committed to continuously improving the ease of doing business in this country. I assured the minister today that any concerns that German companies may have in India -- coming to India, establishing themselves, working here -- we would be prepared to give it special attention," the EAM stressed.

He also said that the "changes we see in the world today do influence our policies and do influence the manner in which we approach other countries". "We're also seeing a lot of volatility on the global economic landscape, and I think together, they make a very powerful case for India and the European Union (EU) and India and Germany to work much more closely with each other. This is a relationship where there are considerable possibilities for fairly rapid growth," EAM Jaishankar highlighted, adding that there are big changes underway in the world which "make a very compelling case for a deeper, stronger, wider India-Germany relationship".

Wadephul said that India is Germany's key economic trading partner, and more than 200 German companies are active in the country. He called India a "rising economic powerhouse" with a "special importance" on the global stage, reaffirming Berlin's full support for finalising the FTA between India and the European Union. Germany was the 8th largest trading partner for India in 2024-25. It was India’s 12th largest trading partner in 2023-24 and 11th largest trading partner in 2022-23. Germany is the 9th largest foreign direct investor in India with a cumulative FDI of $15.11 billion from April 2000 to March 2025.