The Rediff Special/ Klaus Kinkel

'India bears a large responsibility for peace and stability in the region and beyond'

From a low starting-point, German investments in India doubled each year between 1990 and 1993, trebled in 1994 and more than doubled once again in 1995. The figures are impressive. Nevertheless, I regret to say that we are not the number 2 in investments, in contrast to trade. There are reasons for this.

First of all, the German business community has been involved in India for a long time. In 1867 Siemens built the first telegraph line from London via Berlin to Calcutta. Bayer India recently celebrated its hundredth anniversary, and the same is true for a number of other German companies. German companies were here in good and in bad times. They earn a lot of money here and reinvest it in India. These sums are not included in the investment statistics. If one did include them then I am sure that Germany would move up a few places in the league.

Furthermore, the German business community is dominated by small and medium-sized companies. 98% of our 51,000 companies have less than 1,000 employees and more than 60% even have less than 100. They have the great advantage of being agile and innovative. That is why in terms of numbers German joint ventures in India are in second place behind the USA and far ahead of other Western partners.

The German business community as a whole is prepared to do considerably more in India -- and it has a wide range of goods and services to offer. In the field of environmental protection German technology and know-how is world class. This also applies to many fields of infrastructure. A well-functioning transport system is a key prerequisite for a sub-continent such as India. The same applies to modern telecommunications and energy.

The Indian government knows what has to be done here. A series of concrete German proposals have been presented. Let us start up a major joint infrastructure project soon -- it will point the way ahead for others.

In addition to its importance as a trading partner, India continues to be by far the most important partner for our development co-operation in Asia. Each year we provide 340 million German marks and in 1996 through return flows it was even 700 million marks. Since 1958 a total of 16.4 billion marks has flown into bilateral projects. That shows that we are serious about our commitment to help the weaker sections of the population and to strengthen economic development. We will continue to do so.

I am proud that we could make a major contribution towards the IIT in Madras. This 'centre of excellence' is a splendid example of an important investment in the future.

We regard the exchange programmes for our future elites as a similar investment. Knowledge will be the most important raw material in the 21st century and standards in education, training, research and technology will be the trump card in global competition. International links have a key role to play here.

Our close and well-functioning bilateral relations are an invaluable basis for the other task which we must master together.

I warmly welcome India's decision to enhance its international and regional co-operation. A large country such as India also bears a large responsibility for peace and stability in the region and beyond.