Brief Introduction
On 16th September 2026, the Indo-German Chamber of Commerce hosted its 70th Annual General Meeting in Mumbai. We were joined by a distinguished delegation from across the German Chamber network.
From 14 to 18 September 2026, we coordinated this visit led by Dr. Helena Melnikov, Chief Executive Officer of the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DIHK). She was accompanied by senior DIHK leadership and ten Chief Executive Officers of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (IHKs). The programme took the delegation from high-level policy conversations in New Delhi to a multi-faceted look at India’s economy in Mumbai.
Events in Delhi
On 15 September 2026, we spent one day in New Delhi with the delegation, holding a series of high-level conversations around a shared goal of stronger India–Germany economic ties.
German Embassy briefing: H.E. Dr. Jasper Wieck, Ambassador of Germany to India and Bhutan, briefed the delegation on India’s economic outlook. Dr. Wieck had taken office only weeks earlier, in August 2026.
Ministry of Commerce and Industry: Discussions focused on bilateral trade, policy incentives and the EU–India Free Trade Agreement.
NITI Aayog: The delegation gained an overview of India’s economic, trade and investment landscape.
Geopolitical roundtable at the German Embassy: Leading voices from ORF, ICRIER, CII and FICCI shared their perspectives with the delegation. We are grateful to our speakers:
- Prof. Harsh V. Pant, ORF
- Pramod Bhasin, ICRIER
- Manjul Pahwa, Ralson India | CII Europe Council
- Amb. Ajit Kumar, Hinduja Group | FICCI
- Rudra Kumar Pandey, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co. | FICCI
Delegation of the European Union to India. The day closed with a discussion on the next steps for the EU–India Free Trade Agreement: We sincerely thank all the dignitaries, institutions and speakers for their time, support and valuable insights.
Events in Mumbai
What does it take to truly understand India? Not one presentation, not one meeting and certainly not one perspective. For the Mumbai leg, we wanted the visit to go beyond a series of formal meetings. We designed it to let the delegation experience India through the people and institutions shaping its economic story, which we called “India Through Multiple Lenses”.
The German Diplomacy Lens: Christoph Hallier, Consul General of the Federal Republic of Germany in Mumbai, set the context for the visit and for the wider Indo-German relationship.
The Business Lens: Members of our Board, together with a CEO roundtable, spoke at the President, Mumbai - IHCL SeleQtions, candidly about the realities of operating and succeeding in one of the world’s most diverse markets.
The AHK India Lens: Our Regional Directors brought home one message: India is not one market but an amalgamation of collaborative regions working towards a shared vision.
The Institutional Lens: At the State Bank of India, “Understanding India – A Journey Across 28 States” gave the delegation a view of the country’s scale, regional diversity and economic reach.
The Infrastructure Lens: Dr. Madhaiyaan Angamuthu, IAS, Chairperson of the Mumbai Port Authority, hosted the delegation at Port House. They saw first-hand the redevelopment of the Eastern Waterfront and the opportunities it could open for German companies. Discussions also covered the Viksit Bharat Mumbai Marina, the proposed National Mega Shipbuilding Cluster at Dighi, logistics, shipbuilding and cruise tourism.
The Technology Lens. A closing visit to the TCS Executive Briefing Centre presented India as a technology, innovation and digitalisation partner to the world.
Each conversation offered a different lens, and together they gave a much richer picture of India. This is an important part of what a Chamber can do: create the connections and conversations that help people understand a market from multiple perspectives and form their own view.
We sincerely thank Kishore Kumar Poludasu, Dr. Madhaiyaan Angamuthu, Major Ranjeet Goswami and Nandan Mehta for their time and insight.
Our 70th Annual General Meeting
On the evening of Wednesday, 16 September 2026, we held our 70th Annual General Meeting in Mumbai. Since our founding in 1956, we have grown into one of the three official pillars of German economic cooperation in India, alongside the German Embassy and Germany Trade & Invest. Today we support more than 2,500 member companies from both countries, through six offices in India and one in Germany.
The AGM brought together senior business leaders, industry executives, diplomats and policymakers from our membership. We were honoured to have Dr. Helena Melnikov and the DIHK–IHK delegation with us for this landmark occasion.
Speakers and guests
- Dr. Helena Melnikov, Chief Executive Officer, DIHK
- H.E. Dr. Jasper Wieck, Ambassador of Germany to India and Bhutan
- Shri. Jaykumar Rawal, Hon'ble Minister of Marketing and Protocol (including Foreign Direct Investment & Diaspora Outreach) Government of Maharashtra
- Dr. Tirthankar Patnaik, Chief Economist, National Stock Exchange of India (NSE)
The evening closed with networking and dinner.
Way Forward
As we enter our eighth decade, the week reaffirmed the strength of the partnership between our chambers and the depth of interest in India among German businesses. Our priorities ahead follow directly from those conversations:
- Deepening ties across the chamber network: We will build on the relationships with DIHK and the IHKs, so that more German companies, including the Mittelstand, can discover India’s regions and opportunities.
- Supporting the EU–India Free Trade Agreement: A recurring theme in New Delhi, the FTA will remain central to our policy dialogue. We will keep members informed as it progresses.
- Presenting India region by region: We will continue to show that India is not one market but many collaborative regions, through our offices across the country.
- Opening doors in infrastructure and technology: We will help our members connect with the opportunities seen in Mumbai, from port and waterfront development to digitalisation partnerships.
We remain committed to facilitating meaningful dialogue and advancing deeper trade and investment cooperation between India and Germany.