New Delhi [India], April 9 (HBTV): The German government is fully backing negotiations with the Indian Navy for its Project 75 India tender to build six new conventional submarines in which German firm Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems is partnering with Indian Mazgaon Dockyards Limited as one of the two competing industry teams, Germany's Ambassador to India Philipp Ackerman said.
In an interview over email, the German envoy said New Delhi is at the forefront of Berlin's business strategy in Asia where it is strongly diversifying its business relations due to the "increasingly challenging behavior of India's big neighbor in the North East" and other reasons.
"I can state that Germany is committed to team up with an Indian dockyard to build high-tech submarines in India and that my government is wholeheartedly supporting the ongoing negotiations. The process is still ongoing and the decision is for India to take. What we can say though it that this project already is accelerating our defense partnership and therefore works as a lighthouse for future cooperation," he said.
Project 75 India is an Indian Navy project where it wants to build six bigger conventional submarines with Air Independent Propulsion technology German firm Thyssenkrupp and Spanish firm Navantia are partnering with MDL and Larsen and Toubro respectively for this project expected to be worth over six billion euros.
Asked why India can count on Germany as its strategic partner, Ackerman said: "Because Germany's shift towards India and the Indo-Pacific is manifesting itself in very concrete actions: military visits and joint exercises, potential co-production of advanced military hardware, more collaboration in the area of cyber and strengthening our interoperability."
Ackerman said Germany would be sending its fighters including the Eurofighter Typhoons and transport aircraft A400M to India and spearhead a European team together with France and Spain for an exercise near Coimbatore.
(ANI) This is a syndicated news feed. HBTV has edited it for brevity and clarity.