BERLIN: Germany will provide Ukraine with additional military aid worth more than 2.7 billion euros ($3 billion), including tanks, anti-aircraft systems and ammunition, the government said Saturday.
The announcement came as preparations were underway in Berlin for a possible first visit to Germany by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky since Russia invaded his country last year.
Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said that Berlin wants to show with the latest package of arms “that Germany is serious in its support” for Ukraine.
“Germany will provide all the help it can, as long as it takes,” he said.
While Zelensky’s visit on Sunday has yet to be officially confirmed, it would be a sign that relations between Ukraine and Germany have improved markedly after a rocky patch.
Kyiv has long been suspicious of Germany’s reliance on Russian energy and support for the Nord Stream gas pipelines circumventing Ukraine, defended by then Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Her successor, Olaf Scholz, agreed to phase out Russian energy imports after the invasion but initially hesitated to provide Ukraine with lethal weapons, fearing Germany could be drawn into the conflict.
With Washington, Warsaw and London more overtly supportive of Ukraine’s efforts to defend itself, Berlin got the cold diplomatic shoulder from Kyiv.
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier was disinvited from Ukraine last year,prompting annoyance in Germany, which pointed out that it has given considerable financial aid to Kyiv and taken in more than a million Ukrainian refugees. Scholz eventually visited Kyiv with French President Emmanuel Macron and other leaders in June.
Though slow to provide military aid, Germany has since become one of the biggest suppliers of arms to Ukraine, crucially giving the green light for deliveries of modern battle tanks like its own Leopard 1 and 2, along with sophisticated anti-aircraft systems needed to fend off drone and missile attacks.
The new military aid package, first reported by German weekly Der Spiegel, includes 30 Leopard 1 A5 tanks, 20 Marder armored personnel carriers, more than 100 combat vehicles, 18 self-propelled Howitzers, 200 reconnaissance drones, four IRIS-T SLM anti-aircraft systems and other air defense equipment.
The Ukrainian president would be arriving from Rome, where he will meet with Pope Francis and Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni.
Berlin police confirmed last week that they are preparing for a possible visit by Zelensky and have imposed a security cordon throughout much of the capital’s government district Sunday.
After meeting Scholz and other senior officials at the chancellery, the two leaders are expected to fly to the western city of Aachen, where Zelensky would receive the International Charlemagne Prize awarded to him and the people of Ukraine. Organizers say the award recognizes that their resistance against Russia’s invasion is a defense “not just of the sovereignty of their country and the life of its citizens, but also of Europe and European values.”
Zelensky last visited Berlin in July 2021. He also attended the Munich Security Conference the following February, days before Russia launched its full-scale attack on Ukraine.
Germany announces $3 billion military aid package for Ukraine before possible Zelensky visit
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Germany announces $3 billion military aid package for Ukraine before possible Zelensky visit
- Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said Berlin wants to show with the latest package of arms “that Germany is serious in its support” for Ukraine
India, EU agree on trade deal slashing tariffs on 99.5% of Indian exports
- Agreement expected to be signed later this year and come into force in early 2027
- Duty cuts on 99.5% Indian exports to EU unlikely to offset US tariff impact, expert says
NEW DELHI: India and the EU have concluded negotiations on a deal creating a free trade zone of 2 billion people, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday.
Talks for the pact, referred to by both leaders as the “mother of all deals,” started in 2007 and stalled repeatedly over the years, with the negotiation process only speeding up last year, following new US tariff polices.
The agreement is expected to be signed later this year and may come into force in early 2027.
“People around the world are calling it the ‘mother of all deals.’ This agreement brings huge opportunities for India’s 1.4 billion people and for millions of people across European countries,” Modi said during a joint press conference with Von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa in New Delhi.
“It represents 25 percent of the global GDP and one-third of global trade.”
The deal paves the way for India to open its vast market to free trade with the EU, its biggest trading partner, and gain preferential access for almost all of its exports to the 27-nation European bloc.
“We have created a free trade zone of 2 billion people, with both sides set to gain economically,” Von der Leyen said. “We have sent a signal to the world that rules-based cooperation still delivers great outcomes.”
The conclusion of negotiations comes as US President Donald Trump slapped India with 50 percent tariffs and has threatened to impose new duties on several EU countries unless they support his efforts to take over Greenland.
“This is a signal to the US that like-minded entities, EU and India, are willing to come together and work together,” Prof. Harsh V. Pant, vice president of the Observer Research Foundation, told Arab News.
“Here are two countries that are bringing in a greater predictability and less volatility in their relationship, and they will move ahead irrespective of what the US does.”
The deal is expected to double EU goods exports to India by 2032 as tariffs on 96.6 percent of EU goods exports — from automobiles and industrial goods to wine and chocolates — will be eliminated or reduced, saving up to $4.75 billion per year in duties on European products, according to a European Commission press release on Tuesday.
At the same time, the EU will eliminate or reduce tariffs on 99.5 percent of goods imported from India over seven years, India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry said in a statement, projecting gains mainly in labor-intensive sectors like textiles, leather, marine products, gems and jewelry.
“Indian services will also benefit from the trade deal. But, more than just export growth, the deal is part of a broader EU-India alliance on green tech, critical raw materials, digital rules and other aspects, which should channelize higher FDI (foreign direct investment) into India,” said Dr. Anupam Manur, professor of economics at the Takshashila Institution.
“India can potentially have a welfare and income gain of 0.5 percent of its GDP in the long run. It would also boost Indian exports to the EU by about $5 billion from the current level of about $76 billion.”
The agreement is unlikely to fully compensate for a slowdown in trade with the US.
“In the near term, this will partially offset the loss of exports to the US due to tariffs but cannot be expected to entirely mitigate it. Shifting supply chains and exports take time,” Manur said.
“The implementation of the FTA would take about a year’s time. The deal is expected to come into force by early 2027.”
