Germany ready to sign ‘lean-forward’ deal with India for submarines: German ambassador to India

President Droupadi Murmu receives credentials from German Ambassador to India Jasper Wieck at Rashtrapati Bhavan on August 24, 2026. Photo: @rashtrapatibhvn via PTI.

Germany is ready to sign a “forward-leaning” deal with India for six submarines worth $8 billion, its new ambassador to India, Jasper Wieck, said. Speaking to reporters at his residence on Wednesday (Sep 23, 2026), Mr Wieck described Russia as an “aggressor” over its actions in Ukraine amid the war and said India could play a role in ending the crisis because New Delhi had positive relations with both Kiev and Moscow.

Mr Wieck pointed out that both Germany and India had increased investment in their military capabilities due to what he described as a “hostile geostrategic environment” globally. Germany’s Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems and India’s Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders are in talks to build six submarines for India, and the envoy said Germany has removed obstacles that have been a challenge in defense cooperation with India.

In the final stages

“From the German side, we should sign tomorrow,” Mr. Wieck said, describing the deal as one in the final stages. “The government has agreed to all the documents that have been worked on, especially the G2G agreement, an intergovernmental agreement that is very ambitious and very advanced in terms of Indian requirements,” Mr. Wieck noted.

“I think it’s the government’s security committee that has to give its final approval, and that’s still pending,” he said, further detailing the status of the intergovernmental agreement.

The submarine deal will provide a “big boost” to the existing partnership between India and Germany, Mr. Wieck said. He highlighted the uncertainties and challenges in the current world order, saying that Russia had been preparing for the Ukraine crisis for a long time because it had not come to terms with the post-Cold War strategic scenario, and that sanctions and pressure on Russian energy supplies were the right approach to deal with Moscow because it had acted as an “aggressor”. “Russia has broken trust with its revisionist policy,” said the German ambassador.

The envoy stressed the need for a “political process” to end the Ukraine crisis and said India should also play its role. “I would say yes, we would like India to be involved in ending this war. First of all, you are a powerful country, so everyone hears your voice. What PM Modi said about the war was very helpful – it is not an era of war and war should end,” Mr Wieck said.

“I would say that India, because it has these very established and long-standing contacts and partnerships with Russia on one side and is also a partner of Ukraine, you have every opportunity to also mediate and bring your diplomatic skills to an end to this war,” the ambassador said.

Published – 23 Sep 2026 22:33 IST