PM to visit Germany, Spain and Russia

NEWDELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will undertake a threenation tour of Germany, Spain and Russia from May 29 with an aim to consolidate the relations with these countries and invite investments to India.

The visit to Germany and Spain will be bilateral in nature while the trip to St Petersburg in Russia is in connection with the St Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) to be held from June 1-3, sources said.

The SPIEF, which will be attended by thousands of business leaders from across the globe, will provide Modi an opportunity to invite investments in India. On the sidelines of the SPIEF, the PM is expected to have talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin to review the state of bilateral relations and ways to push the ties further, the sources said. Matters related to trade and investment, defence and nuclear cooperation are expected to figure in the talks.

India and Russia are currently in talks over finalisation of the General Framework Agreement for units 5 and 6 of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP) in Tamil Nadu but it is not clear yet whether it would be signed during the visit.

In Germany, the first stopover of the tour, the Prime Minister will hold talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel and discuss ways to take the Strategic Relations to the next level by mainly enhancing the business ties. PTI