New Delhi [India], July 29 (ANI): External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Wednesday bid farewell to German Ambassador to India Philipp Ackermann, appreciating his contribution to strengthening the India-Germany Strategic Partnership as the envoy concluded his tenure.

In a post on X, Jaishankar said he received the German Ambassador for a farewell call. 'Pleased to receive German Ambassador @AmbAckermann for a farewell call-on,' Jaishankar said.

The External Affairs Minister acknowledged Ackermann's role in deepening bilateral ties during his tenure in India.

'Appreciated his valuable contributions to the strengthening of India-Germany Strategic Partnership. Conveyed my best wishes for future endeavours,' Jaishankar said.

According to the official website of 'German Missions in India', Philipp Ackermann studied art history and economics at the universities of Bonn, Heidelberg and Utrecht, earning a doctorate in art history in 1993.

He joined the German Foreign Service the same year. During his diplomatic career, he has served in Rabat, Morocco, and at Germany's Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York.

From 2006 to 2007, he headed the German Provincial Reconstruction Team in Kunduz, Afghanistan. He later served as Political Counsellor at the German Embassy in New Delhi from 2007 to 2010.

In Berlin, Ackermann worked in the offices of German Foreign Ministers Joschka Fischer and Frank-Walter Steinmeier between 2002 and 2006. From 2010 to 2014, he served as Head of the Afghanistan-Pakistan Task Force at the Federal Foreign Office and as Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan.

He was Deputy Head of Mission at the German Embassy in Washington, D.C., from 2014 to 2016. Before being appointed German Ambassador to India, he served for five years as Director General for Africa, Latin America, and the Near and Middle East at the Federal Foreign Office.

With the upcoming departure of the German ambassador, earlier on Tuesday, Ackermann hailed the upcoming India-European Union Free Trade Agreement (FTA) as a major milestone, stating that the pact will heavily transform economic relations and boost commercial activities between the two regions.

Speaking to ANI following a press conference of the German Embassy in New Delhi, Ambassador Ackermann highlighted that the implementation of the agreement will catalyse cross-border commerce.

'It will be a game changer in many ways,' Ackermann said on the expected impact of the trade deal, noting that it will 'lead to more German investment in India and maybe also to more Indian investment in Germany.'

The Ambassador emphasised that slashing tariffs and removing trade barriers between Europe and India will directly stimulate economic engagement.

Expressing strong optimism regarding the timeline, Ackermann noted that the implementation of the free trade agreement during the first half of next year will generate a progressive transformation over the coming years.

'It will lead to more German investment in India and maybe also to more Indian investment in Germany which we welcome highly welcome and I think in many ways the reducing of tariffs and tariff barriers between Europe and India will you know activate trade and investment activities between both markets and I'm very optimistic about when in the first half of next year we'll implement this free trade agreement,' he stated.

He further pointed out that the deepening economic synergy will naturally translate into greater people-to-movement, remarking that it will 'also increase the number of visitors going on both sides of the free trade agreement India to Germany, Germany to India.'

The proposed India-European Union Free Trade Agreement (FTA) could help India redirect exports worth an estimated USD 10-11 billion from the United States to the European Union, reducing dependence on a single export market while expanding India's presence in Europe, according to a report by Rubix Data Science. (ANI)