German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will be on his first two-day official visit to India since assuming office, landing in Ahmedabad on January 12 and then travelling to Bengaluru.
Announcing this, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Monday: “At the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Federal Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, Friedrich Merz, will pay an official visit to India on 12-13 January 2026. This will be Chancellor Merz’s first official visit to India. On the visit, he will be traveling to Ahmedabad and Bengaluru.”
The MEA said Prime Minister Modi will receive Merz in Ahmedabad on January 12.
“The two leaders will take stock of the progress made in diverse aspects of the India-Germany Strategic Partnership, which completed 25 years last year. The discussion will also focus on further intensifying cooperation in trade and investment, technology, education, skilling and mobility, while also advancing collaboration in important domains of defence and security, science, innovation and research, green and sustainable development, and people-to-people relations,” it said.
Modi and Merz will also engage with business and industry leaders and exchange views on issues of regional and global importance, it said.
Reaching out to Europe
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s visit comes just a fortnight before European Union’s top leadership, Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa, visiting India for the Republic Day celebrations. These back-to-back visits by European leaders early in 2026 showcase how Europe and India are engaging at the highest levels. Given its key role in the EU as well as the strength of bilateral relations, Germany is one of Indiaʼs most important partners in Europe.
“The visit will build on the momentum generated by regular interactions at the highest political level. It will provide a valuable opportunity to reaffirm the shared vision of India and Germany to build a forward-looking partnership for the benefit of the people of both countries and the wider global community,” it said.
PM Modi and Merz had first met on June 17, 2025, on the sidelines of the G7 leaders’ summit in Kananaskis, Canada, within a month of Merz assuming office.
Story continues below this ad
At that time, in the backdrop of Operation Sindoor after the Pahalgam terror attack, the two leaders had agreed that terrorism constitutes a major threat to peace and stability in the world. In this regard, the PM had thanked Merz for Germany’s strong expression of solidarity and support to India’s actions in the fight against terrorism.
Since May 2000, India and Germany have had a ‘Strategic Partnership’ which has been further strengthened with the launch of Inter-Governmental Consultations (IGC) in 2011 at the level of Heads of Government.
As two countries are in the top five economies of the world, Germany and India share a robust economic and developmental partnership. Besides strong economic ties, both countries have a shared interest in upholding democratic values, the rules-based international order, and multilateralism as well as the reform of multilateral institutions. Both sides have also acknowledged the need to further deepen bilateral security and defence cooperation to jointly address global security challenges.
