Angela Merkel arrives India for 2-day visit

German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrived in New Delhi on Thursday night for a two-day visit, during which she will hold talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on a host of bilateral issues.

Merkel and Prime Minister Narendra Modi are scheduled to meet on Friday to discuss a host of bilateral issues. Nearly 20 agreements are expected to be signed between the two countries, the Press Trust of India(PTI) reported.

She and Modi will co-chair the 5th-IGC (Inter-Governmental Consultations). This would be the 5th meeting between the leaders within a year.

This will be followed by a raft of agreements to be signed between the two sides.

During the IGC, the two sides will discuss the deepening of cooperation in traditional sectors such as transport, skill development and energy, and explore possibilities for cooperation in newer areas like green urban mobility and artificial intelligence.

The outcome of these discussions will be reported on at the IGC.

On Saturday, Angela Merkel will meet a business delegation and visit Continental Automotive Components India Pvt Ltd in Manesar, Gurgaon.

Ahead of the visit, German envoy to India Walter J Lindner had said that PM Modi and Merkel have a “very good relationship and they can talk about any issue. I do not want to anticipate what the two leaders will be talking about.”

India and Germany have been strategic partners since 2001. Both countries have a mechanism of intergovernmental consultations at the level of head of governments which allows for a comprehensive review of cooperation and identification of fresh areas of engagement.

Germany is India’s largest trading partner in Europe and India was ranked 25th in Germany’s global trade during 2018.

Germany is the seventh-largest foreign direct investor in India since April 2000. Germany’s total FDI in India from April 2000 until March 2019 amounted to USD 11.7 billion.–IndiaToday