lii
the former Soviet Union will unleash new forces which are going to
leave long-term effects on Indo-German relations. New exciting
opportunities will bring with them deep challenges. India could
become a competitor to many new East European nations when the
trade ties of Germany further strengthen with them. For example,
Rumania in leather products and Hungary in textiles could become
serious threats to India."25
In this context we find ourselves confronted with some of the
issues which are of great relevance for long-term economic relations
between India and Germany. Will it, for instance, be possible to
balance the lopsided trade relations and to level out the great differ
ences in product structure? Will it further be possible to carry the
advantages accruing from these trade relations beyond a small minor
ity of the Indian population? Is Germany judiciously playing its part
in the EU from India’s standpoint, say, in terms of displaying greater
drive for opening the European market for India? Various efforts,
especially at the political level, have evidently failed to realize a
desired level or expansion of trade relations.
5. Conclusions
Indo-German economic cooperation may be seen as an extremely
diverse and complex matrix. It is well anchored in a great variety of
economic sectors. Besides, on both sides a large number of ministries,
semi-government organisations, trade unions and individual firms are
also involved. In the realm of development cooperation various NGOs,
such as voluntary organisations of the Church, should also be considered
as partner organisations for many Indian NGOs. The presence of a
multitude of agencies which is clearly the result of a progressive evolu
tion and specialisation of economic cooperation has to be understood as
an “unavoidable problem”: Along with the advantages there is a loss of
transparency which in turn results in insecurity and rise in information
costs for the interested protagonists of economic activities. Similar
criticism is being voiced especially by the private sector in Germany.
But at the same time, there are those who would dismiss any
attempt to go into finer distinctions and gradations of the policy instru
ments of economic cooperation as counterproductive. In certain quarters
it is considered rather counterproductive. The upshot is that particularly
the medium-sized enterprises often circumvent obscure information
channels and promotional agencies or institutions and embark on joint
ventures directly.
