Recent electoral gains by Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) will not affect the country’s expanding strategic relationship with India, German Ambassador to India Jasper Wieck said Wednesday, dismissing concerns about potential changes to cooperation on migration, trade, technology and development.
Speaking at a press conference in New Delhi, Wieck said he had received questions from Indian counterparts about whether recent regional election results could influence bilateral relations. He said Germany’s cooperation with India, including work on migration and mobility, technology, development and the proposed EU-India Free Trade Agreement, would continue despite the AfD’s stronger showing.
The AfD made significant gains in recent regional elections, including winning 44.5 per cent of the vote in Saxony-Anhalt. The Christian Democratic Union received 18.5 per cent, down from 37.1 per cent in 2021. The AfD is projected to hold 39 seats in the 83-seat state parliament, leaving it short of the majority required to govern alone.
Wieck said regional election results would not directly determine Germany’s foreign, security, migration, economic or trade policies, which are governed at the federal level within the framework of the German Constitution and federal legislation. He also noted that the AfD did not secure a majority allowing it to govern alone in any of the three regional contests he discussed.
The ambassador also highlighted growing defence and security cooperation between India and Germany. He pointed to visits by German naval vessels, including the Bayern, Frankfurt am Main and Rheinland-Pfalz, as well as German participation in military exercises in India.
Wieck said the partnership is continuing to expand, with Germany expected to participate in an Indian Air Force exercise next week and deploy an A400M military transport aircraft. The defence cooperation forms part of broader efforts by Berlin and New Delhi to deepen their strategic relationship across security, trade and technology.
