Visit comes at a time when region faces challenges: PM
NEW DELHI: India’s engagements with European partners come at a time when Europe is facing many challenges will strengthen cooperation with countries that are “important companions” in New Delhi’s quest for peace and prosperity, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday.
In a departure statement ahead of his visit to Berlin, Copenhagen and Paris, Modi said his engagements with the new German government headed by Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the Nordic countries and the French government following the re-election of President Emmanuel Macron will help drive cooperation in diverse areas.The PM is scheduled to visit Berlin on May 2 and Copenhagen on May 3-4.
“My visit to Europe comes at a time when the region faces many challenges and choices,” he said in the statement, against the backdrop of the Ukraine crisis that has raised questions about the long-standing security architecture in Europe.
“Through my engagements, I intend to strengthen the spirit of cooperation with our European partners, who are important companions in India’s quest for peace and prosperity,” he added.
AModi will start the tour with a visit to Berlin, where he and Scholz will co-chair the IndiaGermany inter-governmental consultations (IGC), a biennial format which India conducts only with Germany. Several ministers are travelling to Germany for consultations with their counterparts.
“I see this IGC as an early engagement with the new government in Germany, within six months of its formation, which will be helpful to identify our priorities for the medium and long term,” he said.
Modi said he looked forward to exchanging views with Scholz on “strategic, regional and global developments that concern us both”. He said commercial ties between India and Germany form one of the pillars of the bilateral strategic partnership, and that Scholz and him will jointly address a business roundtable to energise industry-to-industry cooperation and strengthen the post-Covid-19 economic recovery on both sides.
From Berlin, Modi will travel to Copenhagen, where he will hold a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and review progress in the bilateral green strategic partnership and other aspects of the relationship. Modi will also participate in the India-Denmark business roundtable.
Apart from bilateral engagements in Copenhagen, Modi will take part in the second IndiaNordic Summit along with his counterparts from Denmark, Iceland, Finland, Sweden and
Norway and review cooperation since the first such summit held in 2018.
The India-Nordic Summit will focus on post-pandemic economic recovery, climate change, innovation and technology, renewable energy, the evolving global security scenario and cooperation in the Arctic region.
On the margins of the summit, Modi will meet the leaders of Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden and review bilateral relations. Modi termed the Nordic countries as important partners in sustainability, renewable energy, digitisation and innovation. On his return journey, Modi will stop over in Paris to meet President Emmanuel Macron and set the tone of the next phase for the bilateral strategic partnership.
“President Macron has very recently been re-elected, and my visit just ten days after the result will not only allow me to convey my personal congratulations in-person, but also reaffirm the close friendship between the two countries,” Modi said.
Macron and Modi will also share assessments of regional and global issues and take stock of bilateral cooperation. “It is my firm belief that two countries that share such similar vision and values for the global order, must work in close cooperation with each other,” Modi said.
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kerala police on Sunday arrested Janapaksham Party leader and former legislator P C George for his remarks against Muslims during a meeting of Hindu seers on Friday in the state capital. He was granted bail later in the day by the chief judicial magistrate court in Thiruvananthapuram.
George was arrested under Sections 153 A ( Promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony) and 295 (Injuring or defiling place of worship with intent to insult the religion of any class) of the Indian Penal Code. The charges, if proven, invite a threeyear jail term.
Speaking at the Ananthapurai Hindu Mahasammelan on Friday, George had made inflammatory remarks on Muslim restaurant owners and stated that ‘Love Jihad’ — a term coined by some right- wing groups to explain interfaith marriage between Muslim boy and girl from other communities — was a reality. He had also attacked M A Yussuf Ali, owner of the Lulu group, saying his malls were putting small businessmen out of work. George was arrested from his house in Poonjar (Kottayam) in the early hours of Sunday by a special team and taken to the state capital later. Though the police sought two-week judicial custody, the court said custodial interrogation was not necessary in such case and granted George bail under strict conditions.