Since the last decade, the economic and political interaction between India and Germany have enhanced significantly. Today, Germany is amongst India's most important partners bilaterally, especially in the area of energy. Parliamentarians of both the countries can also play a key role in enhancing the bilateral cooperation.

This being the second year in a row, on 15^th May 2017 a group of  multi-party Indian Parliamentarians visited Germany for a 4 day workshop on  “Legislators Capacity Building on German Climate and Energy Policies and Indo-German Energy Cooperation”.

Member of Parliamentarians in the delegation included Mr Nagendra Pradhan (Biju Janta Dal Party), Mr Kunwar Bharatendra Singh (Bharatiya Janta Party), Ms Vandana Chavan (National Congress Party), Ms Rajani Patil (Indian National Congres) & Mr Sunil Kumar Singh (Bharatiya Janta Party).

Commissioned by the German Federal Foreign Office and organized by the Climate Parliament and the Renewables Academy (RENAC), Berlin, the delegation focused on Germany’s energy and climate policies from the legislative and the executive perspectives.

The delegation consisted of different Indian Political Parties with a common goal of implementing its own sustainable low-carbon initiatives in India. The visit enabled legislators to acquire knowledge and build capacity on the issues of energy transition in Germany and also gave them an opportunity to increase interventions by parliamentarians for supporting India’s action towards meeting renewable energy targets and climate change challenges. The visit also focused on Indo-German cooperation in the field of energy.

The group visited the Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy (BMWi), the Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB) and the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

The Parliamentary delegation resolved that India and Germany should together aim for fighting the challenges of climate change and efficient use of energy - the most effective ways of mitigating green house gas emissions in both countries. Parliamentarians from both the countries have shared vision of mainstreaming renewable energy in their power sector and how parliamentary actions and policy making can be used effectively. It was shared that proactive co-operation on both sides will help in early realization of the climate and energy objectives.

The Government of India and Federal Republic of Germany share the vision of sustainable development, expanding the deployment of renewable energy and to meet the climate change targets. Both the countries have signed partnerships for co-operation in the clean energy sector in October 2015 after submitting their commitments for Paris agreements.