The recruitment of skilled Indian workers for the German economy could serve as a model for other countries, German Labor Minister Hubertus Heil said on Saturday at the end of his visit to India.
“For the first time, we have deliberately developed a strategy to show this great country how skilled immigration in large numbers can work in practice,” Heil told dpa in New Delhi.
If successful, the strategy could be transferred to other countries seeking migration deals with Germany, he added.
Heil traveled to India as part of the German government delegation led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
He said his mission was to ensure that India, Germany and potential migrants all benefited from the talks.
The German government aims to attract Indian workers to fill vacancies in the struggling economy by removing bureaucratic hurdles.
Demographic changes in Germany mean the country will have to replace six million workers by 2035, Heil said. Otherwise, labor shortages would become a “constraint on growth,” he said.
Heil noted that one million people enter the Indian labor market every month.
India is of special significance to Germany because of its size and the 20-year strategic partnership between the two countries, Heil said.
However, he emphasized that Germany does not want to alienate other countries in the region through its focus on India.
