Merkel says New Delhi is ‘very serious’ about Make in India after meeting PM Modi

Germany is India’s largest trading partner in Europe and more than 1,700 German companies operate in the country.

India and Germany signed multiple pacts and joint declarations of intent and exchanged agreements after bilateral talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and German Chancellor Angela Merkel in New Delhi on Friday. The agreements were inked for cooperation in fields such as space, civil aviation, maritime technology, artificial intelligence, digital technology, medicine, defence, cyber security and education.

India and Germany will strengthen bilateral and multilateral cooperation to deal with dangers of terrorism and militancy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday after meeting with German chancellor Angela Merkel.(HT Photo)

Prime Minister said the expertise of economic power houses like Germany could help in his government’s aim to build a “new India” by 2022. He invited Germany to also take advantage of opportunities in defence production in dedicated corridors in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu

Germany is India’s largest trading partner in Europe and more than 1,700 German companies operate in the country.

Merkel said she was accompanied by a big German business delegation including small and medium enterprises (SMEs), who wanted to engage in business with India.

“There is a strong will to do business in India,” Merkel said and added that it was clear that New Delhi was “very serious” about transforming India into a modern industrialised nation through Make in India- a government initiative to encourage global players to manufacture in India.

She went on to add that the agreements showed the area of cooperation between the two nations was very wide.

She also said Germany intended to work very closely on sustainable development and climate protection with India.

Acknowledging that about 20,000 Indian nationals were studying in Germany, Merkel said she would like to see more Indian students go to Germany and will also like to see exchange of teachers for vocational training.

Merkel was briefing journalists about the talks, she and her delegation held, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Prime Minister Modi said Merkel was a good friend to him and India.

“I am happy and proud that she is a good friend of India as well as mine. As Chancellor for nearly a decade and a half, she has made a significant contribution to deepening India-Germany relations. I thank her for that,” he said.

This was the 5th Intergovernmental Consultation between the two countries, which is held every two years. PM said he and Merkel had attended three of these.

Merkel’s India visit started with a reception at the president’s house forecourt in New Delhi followed by a visit to the memorial of Mahatma Gandhi.