Germany seeks enhanced bilateral cooperation with India

New Delhi, Feb 2, IRNA – Germany has sought enhanced bilateral cooperation with India in various sectors.

Talking to reporters after a ceremonial reception on the forecourts of Rashtrapati Bhawan (Presidential Palace) in New Delhi on Tuesday morning, German President Horst Kohler said that prowess of India cannot be ignored and that is why his country wants to have deeper ties with India.

Kohler arrived in New Delhi on a six-day state visit on Monday evening.

He is accompanied by a high-level business delegation, focused on Infrastructure, IT and renewable energy.

During the visit, President Koehler will have meetings with the President and the Vice-President and will hold talks with the Prime Minister.

The External Affairs Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and the Chairperson of the UPA will call on him.

Kohler will meet with top political leaders and hold discussions on the financial crisis with the RBI Governor. He will also meet key industry representatives as well as Indian intellectuals. He will be visiting Pune and Mumbai also.

The bilateral relations between India and Germany are marked by rapidly growing economic and trade ties. Germany is India's biggest trade partner in the European Union with a bilateral trade of 13.4 billion euros in 2008.

Germany is India's seventh largest investor cumulatively and India's second largest partner for technology collaborations globally. India and Germany cooperate well in various multilateral fora and have close consultations and engagements through institutionalized dialogue mechanisms in areas as diverse as energy, vocational education, urban infrastructure, health and strategic cooperation./end