NEW DELHI, Oct 25, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Germany will dramatically boost the

number of skilled Indians it permits to work in the country, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi announced Friday as he hosted Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

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.

Modi said the Scholz administration had decided to increase the number of
visas granted annually to skilled Indian workers to 90,000, up from 20,000.

"I am confident this will give a new momentum to Germany's growth," he said.

"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."

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 on from 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.

"In this world we need friends and allies -- just like India and Germany,"
Scholz said on social media platform X.

Germany and India are defence 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.

But the two countries diverge over ties with Russia. While Germany strongly
backs Ukraine, Indian Prime Minister Narendra 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.

Scholz's visit is also expected to discuss India's ambitious programme 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.

Scholz and his team are expected to travel to Goa on Saturday to inspect
naval vessels before returning to Germany in the evening.