NEW DELHI | 30 OCTOBER 2026 ASSOCHAM hosted an interactive meeting with a high-level German parliamentary and business delegation at its headquarters in New Delhi, bringing together parliamentarians, industry leaders and business stakeholders to discuss opportunities for expanding bilateral trade, investment and industrial cooperation between India and Germany.
The German delegation included Mr. Sepp Müller, MdB, Deputy Chairman of the CDU/CSU Parliamentary Group in the German Bundestag; Ms. Vanessa Zobel, MdB, CDU/CSU Parliamentary Group; and Dr. Hans-Georg Feldmeier, CEO of Dermapharm Holdings SE. Ms. Simran Dhingra represented the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung.
Mr. Saurabh Sanyal, Secretary General, ASSOCHAM with Mr. Tribhuvan Darbari, Chairman of the BIMSTEC Business Council Secretariat, Chairman of the India–Eurasia Business Council, ASSOCHAM, and Managing Director & CEO of Texmaco Defence and Chief Executive of Texmaco Rail & Engineering Ltd., Adventz Group, delivered the keynote address, emphasising the need to move beyond conventional trade towards co-development, co-manufacturing and deeper integration of Indian and German enterprises into global supply chains.
Mr. Sanyal, drawing on his experience as a defence veteran, brought attention to the importance of defence-sector cooperation and the opportunities for greater industrial participation, technology development and manufacturing partnerships. A key highlight was the presentation by Dr. S.P. Sharma, Chief Economist, ASSOCHAM, showcasing ASSOCHAM’s in-house-developed analytical framework that brings together multiple data points and indicators to assess the factors influencing ease of doing business in India and the country’s progress towards Viksit Bharat.
Speaking on the long-standing economic relationship between the two countries, Mr. Darbari also highlighted opportunities in railway modernization, metro systems, freight corridors, logistics and advanced tunnelling technologies. He called for German original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to collaborate with Indian public- and private-sector enterprises through technology transfer, local manufacturing and joint participation in infrastructure projects in India and overseas.
Mr. Darbari further highlighted opportunities for partnerships between Indian MSMEs and startups and Germany’s Mittelstand businesses, proposing an ASSOCHAM-led initiative to promote technology-based matchmaking and supplier development. He also emphasised cooperation in ports, submarines and shipbuilding, noting that Germany’s advanced technologies, combined with India’s cost-effective manufacturing capabilities and skilled workforce, could create competitive solutions for domestic and global markets.
The meeting featured perspectives from industry representatives from logistics, transport, automotive, defence and economic research, including Mr. Sanjay Bajpai, Mr. Saandip Wadhwa, Mr. Vipin Vohra, Mr. Rajkiran Kanagala, Mr. Sushil Rajput, and Dr. Ambika Sharma.
In the broader European context, the India–EFTA Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement, which entered into force on 1 October 2025, represents another milestone in India’s trade engagement under the leadership of Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi Ji and the guidance of Hon’ble Minister of Commerce and Industry Shri Piyush Goyal Ji. The agreement underscores the wider potential for India to deepen commercial engagement with European economies.
