Germany's ambassador to India, Asper Wieck, said Germany is prepared to sign an
approximately $8 billion submarine-construction agreement with India, describing
the deal as near-final as the two countries deepen defense and security
cooperation. Germany has agreed to pursue the project via a
government-to-government arrangement and said the deal will adopt a proactively
forward-looking approach to meeting India's requirements. Wieck said the
agreement should be signed tomorrow. He added that building the submarines in
India will require substantial component integration and could pave the way for
expanded bilateral cooperation in weapons and other military systems.
