Trade boost on agenda for Modi-Merkel meet

NEWDELHI: Measures to boost trade and investment and cooperation in new areas such as artificial intelligence are expected to be on the agenda during German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Nov 1.

Merkel will arrive in India on October 31 for the day-long visit at Modi’s invitation. She will be accompanied by several ministers and state secretaries of the German government. The two leaders will jointly chair the fifth biennial inter-governmental consultations.

They will also have a separate engagement with CEOs and business leaders of both sides. Merkel will also meet President Ram Nath Kovind.

As part of the inter-governmental consultations, Indian ministers and their German counterparts will hold initial discussions in their respective areas, and the outcome of these talks will be reported at the meet co-chaired by Modi and Merkel.

During the consultations, the two sides will discuss ways to deepen cooperation in traditional sectors such as transport, skill development and energy, and explore possibilities for working together in new areas such as artificial intelligence and green urban mobility, the external affairs ministry said on Friday.

Other issues that are expected to be on the agenda are defence and security, renewable energy, and water and waste management. Regional and global matters, including the situation in Afghanistan, are also expected to figure in the discussions between the two leaders.