India and Germany will enhance defence trade with an eye on ‘co-production and co-development,’ said Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday (January 12, 2026), as the two sides signed an agreement to strengthen bilateral defence industrial cooperation.
Follow German Chancellor in India updates
Welcoming German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to India, Mr. Modi said India will launch a ‘consultation mechanism’ on increasing collaboration with Germany in the Indo-Pacific region. In his remarks, Chancellor Merz, who is on his first visit to Asia since assuming office in May 2025, said “rough winds” are blowing in world politics and that India and Germany should increase partnership to counter global trends of instability.
“The growing cooperation in defence and security is a symbol of our mutual trust and shared vision. I express my heartfelt gratitude to Chancellor Merz for simplifying the processes related to defence trade. We will also work on a roadmap to enhance cooperation between our defence industries, which will open up new opportunities for co-development and co-production,” said Prime Minister Modi in his remarks following talks with Chancellor Merz, when several agreements, including one on ‘Strengthening the Bilateral Defence Industrial Cooperation’, were signed. Apart from defence, the list of ‘outcomes’ included several other MoUs and Joint Declarations of Intent covering areas like recruitment of skilled professionals by Germany, sports, and higher education.
