In dialogue with consultant and publicist Professor Sigmund Gottlieb, the Indian Ambassador to Germany, H.E. Harish Parvathaneni, and the German Ambassador to the Republic of India, H.E. Dr Philipp Ackermann, the specialist for Global and Area Studies, Professor Amrita Narlikar (University of Hamburg), ARD India correspondent, Charlotte Horn, migration expert, Vanessa Ahuja (Head of Benefits and International Affairs at the Federal Employment Agency), debated contemporary political and economic policy in India. The programme also featured further panel debates with academics from the University and regional business executives.
The topics discussed included the parliamentary elections in India, which had taken place only a few days earlier and, with some 970 million voters, were the largest democratic ballot in history, as well as India's unprecedented digitalisation effort as well as the expectations German companies and higher education institutions have for the world's fifth-largest and fastest-growing economy. Ambassador Parvathaneni, having already met with Indian students at the University of Passau and local politicians and business executives the day before, emphatically expounded on India's potential, particularly for education and SMEs, saying that the time is more favourable than ever for multi-level cooperation, since openness had never been greater on both sides – and that there are enough common challenges, above all the energy transition.
Ambassador Ackermann emphasised that Germany has much to learn from India, not only for India's exemplary handling of digitalisation but also because, while India is certainly not a country without its share of problems, it was nevertheless "a country full of confidence, characterised by a basic trust that the future has better things in store for us – and this leads to many Indians taking an extremely entrepreneurial and mobile approach to the world."
His impression was confirmed by the panel moderated by Christian Wallstabe (Wallstabe & Schneider GmbH & Co. KG), with Peter Born (Commerzbank AG Mumbai), Chaitanya Divekar (Divekar Wallstabe & Schneider Ltd., India), Martin Wörlein (Rödl & Partner New Delhi) and Sebastian Zang (Beta Systems Software AG), who shared very specific insights into their business encounters and intercultural experiences with India and its people.
Professor Carola Jungwirth (University of Passau), Professor Saji Mathew (Indian Institute of Technology Madras) and the president of Hof University of Applied Sciences, Professor Jürgen Lehmann, in conversation with Dr Daniela Fischer (AXA Switzerland), demonstrated how partnerships with India can take shape and succeed in the higher education sector. Young people from India see Germany as an enormous opportunity – not only for its academic possibilities but also because of its location as a "gateway to Europe". However, successful educational cooperation also requires a high level of commitment from higher education institutions in terms of a welcoming culture and encounters, emphasised Lehmann, who is also the chairperson of the Bavarian-Indian Centre for Business and Higher Education, BayIND. With one third of current students in Hof hailing from India, and India also being the third most represented nation at the University of Passau, he echoed Passau's university president, Professor Ulrich Bartosch's earlier remarks that it is an enormous task for the higher education institutions to shape Indian students' overall integration all the way to attracting Indian graduates for the regional labour market.
The director of Goethe-Institut China, Robin Mallick, explained China's perspective on India in an interview with Dr Fritz Audebert. Mallick, who has Indian roots, has previously lived in New Delhi for many years, where he was head of programmes for South Asia. He said that the relationship between the two major powers will have a strong effect on future world events. Dr Fritz Audebert moderated the entire symposium as first chairperson of Neuburger Gesprächskreis.
Ambassador Ackermann gave a dinner speech later on in the evening in which he outlined the strengths to which India can play, particularly in terms of the economy, climate change, geopolitics and labour migration, as well as the uncomfortable questions that must be addressed and what makes Germany particularly interesting for India. This was followed by a speech from Professor Sir Ralf Speth (Tata Motors), who gave a lively and entertaining insight into the character and (corporate) culture of India and its people. Ackermann quipped: "Instead of 'Incredible India', it should really be 'Inevitable India' – you simply can't get past this nation."
The partnership between Neuburger Gesprächskreis and Dr Arno Lippert, CEO of multinational spirits conglomerate MBev Holding, which began in 2023, was continued this year, as was the collaboration with the Festspiele Europäische Wochen resulting in a wonderful musical performance by violinist, Benjamin Günst, and cellist, Cosima Regina Federle. Playing works by Jean-Philippe Rameau, Maurice Ravel and Johann Sebastian Bach, the young duo brought the programme to a delightful close and made a glowing statement for the universal language of music.