Narendra Modi reached Berlin earlier on Monday at the start of his six-day, four-nation tour of Germany, Spain, Russia and France. He was hosted by German Chancellor Angela Merkel at her country retreat near Berlin, which is an 18th century Baroque castle in the Brandenburg district of Germany and the official state guest house of the German Chancellor.
Modi and Merkel enjoyed the walk in her beautiful garden and later had informal talks over dinner. After his meeting, which began with the signing of the visitors’ book at Schloss Meseberg, Modi said in a tweet that he had a very good interaction with Chancellor Merkel.
Had a very good interaction with Chancellor Merkel. pic.twitter.com/5SQb5l205M
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 29, 2017
The official formal meeting of the Prime Minister will start from Tuesday. Meanwhile, Modi’s accompanying delegation of senior ministers, including Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Energy Minister Piyush Goyal, and Minister of State for External Affairs M J Akbar, are also holding talks with their German counterparts.
During an interview with German newspaper, ‘Handelsblatt’, Modi urged Europe to play the lead role in tackling the threat of terrorism, which is the gravest challenge for humankind today. He said that Europe should develop an effective global response, with the support of United Nations Organisation, to deal with this threat at the earliest.
Talking about the Indo-German ties, he said India sees Germany as an important partner in the national flagship programmes of Make in India, Skill India, Start-up India, Clean India and Smart Cities. He further added that India is keen to welcome small and medium enterprises of Germany to partner in India’s Make in India programme and that India is committed to provide a supportive business ecosystem. Modi also said that he is very optimistic about the Indo-German partnership and has established platforms to support German companies and investments in India.
Further talking about the upcoming G20 summit in Hamburg in July, Modi offered India’s full support for a successful outcome. He said that The G20 has emerged as a premier forum for coordination on international and financial matters and is likely that it will enhance global growth.
The two leaders are expected to settle down a number of agreements. Future guidelines will be set for corporation between the two nation, focusing on on trade and investment, security and counter-terrorism, innovation and science and technology, skill development, urban infrastructure, railways and civil aviation, clean energy, development cooperation, health and alternative medicine.