Prime Minister Narendra Modi and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will discuss ways for Berlin to support New Delhi’s skill development programme and its ambitious plan to have 100 smart cities across India.
They will be chairing the third India-Germany Intergovernmental Consultation in New Delhi next week.
Merkel will be visiting India from October 4-6. She will be accompanied by a large delegation including several Cabinet Ministers. A high-profile business delegation will also accompany the Chancellor.
She will arrive in New Delhi on October 4. The next day, she will be accorded a ceremonial welcome at Rashtrapati Bhawan, followed by a visit to Rajghat and official meetings between the two leaders and Inter-Governmental Consultations between the two delegations.
The Chancellor will also call on External Affairs Minister Smt. Sushma Swaraj and German Foreign Minister Frank Walter Steinmeir will also call on the Chancellor.
The Chancellor and Prime Minister will visit Bengaluru on October 6, where both will participate in a business event hosted by NASSCOM on Industry 4.0 and also visit the innovation and skilling centres at the German company M/s Bosch.
Modi and Merkel will hold discussions on a wide range of issues of mutual interest, including deepening bilateral engagement in defence, security, education, renewable energy, high technology manufacturing, skill development, science and technology, railways, water and waste management, urban development and agriculture.
They will also exchange views on regional and global issues of common concern.
The IGC is a unique Summit-level dialogue with Cabinet participation of both Governments that helps advance the bilateral partnership across the whole range of priority areas of mutual interest between the two countries.
The 3rd IGC will seek to build on Prime Minister Modi’s successful visit to Germany in April 2015 to participate in the Hannover Messe where India was the Partner Country.
India and Germany are strategic partners since 2001.
Germany is India’s largest trading partner in the European Union and the seventh largest foreign investor in India.
Germany’s acknowledged competencies in manufacturing, skilling, high technology, clean energy, water and waste management etc. provide a robust foundation for enhanced partnerships in a range of priority areas.
This visit would be an opportunity to consolidate stronger strategic, political and economic partnership between India and Germany.