German Federal Minister of Economics and Technology Rainer Brüderle in India
Indo-German economic relations at a new high
The German Federal Minister of Economics and Technology Rainer Brüderle will visit India from 23rd September to 24th September 2010. During his two-day trip, he is scheduled to have high-level meetings with Indian ministers and business leaders.
Accompanied by an 80-member delegation, which includes Members of the German Parliament, a high-ranking business delegation and a press delegation, Minister Brüderle will arrive in Delhi on Thursday, 23rd September. On the same day he will attend the 17th Session of the Indo-German Joint Commission on Industrial and Economic Cooperation hosted by Pranab Mukherjee, the Indian Minister of Finance.
Ahead of his visit, Minister Brüderle spoke about the priority areas that will be discussed during the Indo-German Joint Economic Commission consultations. In an interview with the German Information Centre New Delhi (GIC), he said, “As strategic partners, we inevitably have a broad range of common issues on the economic policy front. One especially important topic is the safeguarding of our future energy supply, particularly by using renewable sources of energy.”
He also said that vast opportunities can be tapped in the fields of infrastructure, education and vocational training. Also high on the agenda are bilateral investment and trade issues.
The two counterparts—Minister Brüderle and Minister Mukherjee will hold a press conference on the 23rd evening, at 1735 hrs at the Hotel Taj Mahal.
On the same day, Minister Brüderle will call on the Indian Minister of Road, Transport & Highways, Kamal Nath. He will also be meeting the Indian Minister of State for Defence, MM Pallam Raju.
On 24th September, Mr Brüderle will meet Arun Maira, Member of the Planning Commission.
In the afternoon, Minister Brüderle and his delegation will travel to Mumbai. Here, he will meet the Governor of Maharashtra, K. Sankaranarayanan. The Minister will conclude his India visit with a Business Round Table, followed by the Annual General Meeting of the Indo-German Chamber of Commerce (IGCC). The chamber was incorporated in 1956. With over 6,700 members, it is the largest German Chamber of Commerce in the world.
Germany is India’s most important trading partner in the European Union. The bilateral trade picked up tremendous momentum in the post-liberalisation era, when India opened its doors for foreign companies. From January to June 2010 Indo-German trade figures touched €7.2 billion, setting a robust outlook for the year ahead. The yearly figures were recorded at €13.1 billion in 2009 and at €13.4 billion in 2008.
The German and Indian investors are highly optimistic about each other’s economies too. In 2008-09, German companies invested an all-time high of $629 million in India.
As for Indian investments in Germany, in 2008 alone, Indian firms invested an estimated amount of $1.8 billion in Germany. As per a recent Deloitte report, India is the single largest source of FDI projects from emerging countries in Germany.
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