Von der Leyen earlier this year, held out the prospect of talks on a possible sale of Eurofighter jets to India. She had also said Berlin was also willing to support a project initiated by India last autumn to build six submarines at an estimated cost of 530 billion rupees (USD 8.3 billion).

India and Germany have had a strategic partnership since 2001; two rounds of IGCs have taken place in New Delhi in May 2011 and in Berlin in April 2013. The two countries also have institutionalised arrangements to deliberate on bilateral and global issues of interest like the strategic dialogue, foreign office consultations, joint commission on industrial and economic cooperation and the high defence committee among others.