Sending a clear message to Taliban terrorism, Walter J. Lindner, German Envoy to India has said that Germany would hold talks with the new government in Kabul only if it shuns terrorism against any country. He went on to say that there was a need to resolve the country's humanitarian aid needs. In response to the Taliban's seizure of Kabul, he said the international community misjudged the rapidity with which the group grabbed control of the country.
'New government in Germany to continue good ties with India'
According to expected results, Germany's Social Democrats secured a slim victory in Sunday's national election, claiming a "clear mandate" to form a government for the first time since 2005, ending 16 years of conservative control under Angela Merkel. German Ambassador Walter J Lindner declared on Monday that there will be no change in policy toward India, just hours after the results of the German federal election were released.
#WATCH | "...Our talks with Taliban are on a condition that there should be no more fostering of international terrorism..., be it by neighbouring countries, Pakistan or by Afghanistan itself...", says Walter J. Lindner, German Envoy to India on using Afghanistan against India. pic.twitter.com/TepwVSVCME
— ANI (@ANI) September 27, 2021
In national elections, Germany's center-left Social Democrats (SPD) narrowly defeated Angela Merkel's conservatives, with chancellor candidate Olaf Scholz claiming a victory to form the next government. According to provisional election results revealed on Monday, the SPD received 25.7 percent of the vote, compared to 24.1 percent for Merkel's center-right CDU-CSU conservative party.
"Whoever be the chancellor in Germany will have close relations with India. India is so important because its 1.4 billion people India is in the region, which is not an easy area. We have excellent bilateral relations, then we have a new strategy for the Indo-Pacific," he said. He further went on to add, "There are so many bilateral aspects from 2,000 companies in the country to 25,000 students in Germany to trade exchange there is so much so for every politician for every member of parliament for that matter it will be an important region."
Walter also said, "1.4 billion people on this planet, every fifth person is Indian, whatever has to be done on global aspects, be it fight against terrorism, global warming, population, climate change...there can't be a solution without India."
