New Delhi, Oct 25 (PTI) German Chancellor Angela Merkel will pay a day-long visit to India on November 1 during which she will hold talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi with a focus on strengthening ties in key sectors such as trade, energy and defence.
Prime Minister Modi and the German chancellor will co-chair the Fifth Biennial Inter Governmental Consultations (IGC) during the visit, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.
The chancellor will be accompanied by several ministers and state secretaries as well as a high-powered business delegation.
Under the IGC format, the counterpart ministers from both countries will hold initial discussions in their respective areas of responsibility, the statement said.
The outcome of these discussions will be reported on at the IGC.
Modi and Merkel will have a separate engagement with CEOs and business leaders of both countries.
During the visit, Merkel will also call on President Ram Nath Kovind.
India and Germany have established a strategic partnership that is characterised by a high degree of trust and mutual understanding, the MEA said.
Modi and Merkel have regularly interacted on the sidelines of multilateral meetings, it said.
During the IGC, the two sides will discuss the deepening of cooperation in traditional sectors such as transport, skill development and energy, and explore possibilities for cooperation in newer areas like green urban mobility and artificial intelligence.
The two leaders will also exchange views on regional and global matters of mutual interest, the MEA said.
In June, Modi and Merkel met on the sidelines of the G20 summit in the Japanese city of Osaka and discussed ways to enhance cooperation in areas like artificial intelligence and cyber security.
India and Germany have been strategic partners since 2001. Both the countries have a mechanism of intergovernmental consultations at the level of head of governments which allows for a comprehensive review of cooperation and identification of fresh areas of engagement.
India is among a select group of countries with which Germany has such a dialogue mechanism.
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier paid a state visit to India in March 2018. Merkel visited India in 2007, 2011 and in October 2015. The bilateral cooperation is on an upswing in the last few years.
Germany is India's largest trading partner in Europe and India was ranked 25th in Germany's global trade during 2018.
Germany is the seventh largest foreign direct investor in India since April 2000. Germany's total FDI in India from April 2000 until March 2019 amounted to USD 11.7 billion.
