Trade top agenda for India-Germany talks

BERLIN: Trade and investment as well as cooperation in science, energy and counterterrorism are at the top of the agenda for Indian Premier Narendra Modi’s talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday.

The leaders are scheduled to chair the fourth biennial Inter-Governmental Consultations in Berlin, which are aimed at boosting ties, after which a clutch of pacts are due to be signed,Indian diplomats said.

In a series of messages on his website, Modi said his visit will “open a new chapter” in the India-Germany strategic partnership.

The consultations will “chart out a future road map of cooperation with focus on trade and investment, security and counter-terrorism, innovation and science and technology, skill development, urban infrastructure, railways and civil aviation, clean energy, development cooperation, health and alternative medicine,” he said.

Modi and Merkel, who are due to participate in a joint business summit, are also likely to discuss an India-European Union free trade pact, negotiations on which came to a standstill in 2013.

Germany is the largest trading partner for India in the EU, with bilateral trade valued at nearly 20 billion dollars. It is also the leading source of foreign investment in India.

Modi is also expected to call on President Frank-Walter Steinmeier later on Tuesday. “Germany is a valuable partner in our development initiatives and German competencies fit well with my vision for India’s transformation,” Modi said. — dpa