German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Saturday that he and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi intend to conclude a free trade agreement between India and the European Union (EU), Reuters reported.

The EU and India resumed talks on a free trade agreement last year with the goal of completing talks by the end of 2023.

For the EU, a free trade agreement with India would be consistent with its strategy of expanding engagement with the Indo-Pacific region, where the bloc is targeting bilateral deals to take advantage of expected higher economic growth. The agreement could also act as a counterweight to China's growing influence in the region.

For his part, Modi said India and Germany intend to realize their untapped potential in sectors such as security and defense cooperation.

Scholz also intends to press for a $5.2 billion deal to sell six conventional submarines to India, although this latest attempt by a Western military-industrial power to wean New Delhi from its dependence on Russia for military hardware is not expected to yield immediate results.

Germany's pivot to India is particularly striking, given that close economic ties with China, a major buyer of German machinery, and Russia, a key energy supplier, have played a role in Germany's prosperity over the past 15 years.

Today the German chancellor made his first official visit to India.