Friday, May 27, 2011



First ever Indo-German Government Consultations

German Chancellor Angela Merkel visits India with members of her cabinet Chancellor Merkel arrives in India on Tuesday, 31st May, accompanied by four cabinet ministers, high-ranking officials, members of parliament and representatives of German business, education and training organisations. In New Delhi, the Chancellor and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will lead the first Indo-German government consultations.
The consultations will cover the full range of bilateral relations, from trade, vocational training, education & research, infrastructure, sustainable energy and environment technologies to security and defence policy. It will also address current regional and global issues, including reform of the United Nations Security Council, fight against terrorism, global financial reforms, as well as the work of the G-20.

From the German side, participants at the consultations will include representatives from the Federal Foreign Office and the Ministries of Interior, Defence, Economics & Technology, Environment, Education & Research, and Transport & Urban Development. After the intergovernmental consultations, the Chancellor will call on President Pratibha Devisingh Patil and receive the Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding. The Chancellor will also meet the Chairperson of the UPA, Sonia Gandhi during her stay in
New Delhi.

Since the year 2000, Germany and India have maintained a strategic partnership. A ‘Joint Declaration’ emphasising this strategic partnership was signed by Chancellor Angela Merkel and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during the latter’s visit to Berlin in April 2006. This was followed by a reciprocal State visit to India by Chancellor Merkel in October 2007. In the years since, there have been several key bilateral political visits on both sides. The two leaders had their latest bilateral consultations during Prime Minister Singh’s visit to Berlin in December 2010.

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