M A I N   N E W S

PM’s Germany visit begins tomorrow, key pacts on anvil
Ashok Tuteja/TNS

New Delhi, April 8
India and Germany are likely to sign key agreements in diverse areas like clean energy, education, trade and science and technology during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s three-day visit to Berlin from April 10.

Addressing a press conference here today, Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai said the PM’s visit was primarily aimed at participating in the second round of inter-governmental consultations with Germany. Chancellor Angela Merkel will head the German side at the meeting. The first round of inter-governmental consultations was held in India in May 2011. Germany is the only country with which India holds such consultations. Singh would also bring to a close the ‘Days of India in Germany’, launched on May 11 last year.

The PM will be accompanied by a high-level delegation, including External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid, Commerce Minister Anand Sharma, Human Resource Development Minister MM Pallam Raju and Renewable Energy Minister Farooq Abdullah. National Security Adviser Shivshanker Menon, who will also be a part of the delegation, will discuss security related issues with his German counterpart during the strategic dialogue between the two countries.

Mathai said the two countries would also discuss how they could take forward their campaign for permanent seats for members of the G-4 grouping in the UN Security Council. Besides India and Germany, Japan and Brazil are the members of the grouping. India, he said, was also keen for German investment in the ambitious Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor.

Responding to a question, the Foreign Secretary said the evolving situation in Afghanistan would figure prominently during the PM’s talks with Chancellor Merkel. Berlin, he said, was keen to ensure that the future of Afghanistan was not marked by uncertainty after the withdrawal of NATO troops in 2014.

The progress in closing the much-delayed free trade agreement (FTA) between India and the European Union (EU) would also be high on the agenda. Mathai said India expected a string thrust from Germany for an early conclusion of the ambitious pact. He said the defence cooperation between India and Germany would also come up for discussion.

Germany is India’s largest trading partner in Europe and bilateral trade with the country had registered an 18.4 per cent increase to touch 18.37 billion euro in 2011. Germany is also the eighth largest foreign direct investor in India.

According to the foreign office, Germany has a vibrant Indian community of 110,000 people with 43,175 holding Indian passports and 67,029 of them being nationals of that country.

This apart, some 4,500 Indian students are pursuing various courses in Germany, while around students from the European country are pursuing similar courses in India.

Inter-governmental consultations

• The PM’s visit, beginning on April 10, was aimed at participating in the 2nd round of inter-governmental consultations with Germany
• The first round of inter-governmental consultations was held in India in May 2011
• Germany is the only country with which India holds such consultations