Easily of business being Merkel’s top priority, India agreed to give German firms similar privileged treatment that Japanese companies now receive.
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On government’s initiatives, Rao says this is an occasion to leverage their technology to promote campaigns like Digital India and Smart Cities and expand India’s global presence. It was criticised also by Merkel who raised the issue during her meeting with Modi on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Brisbane in November past year. “We have witnessed exponential growth in start-ups in the recent past and a few of them have begun to challenge established global players”, Modi said. It is the German Chancellor’s first visit to India after Modi stormed to power in May 2014.
Several agreements on cooperation in dealing with climate change, including assistance for India’s solar energy programme, and expediting German business ventures in India, were signed after the talks. “I am convinced that the Indo-German Intergovernmental Consultations will be a resounding success”, Ambassador Dr Martin Ney said at a press conference ahead of Chancellor Merkel’s visit. The German Chancellor also returned a 10th century made idol of Goddess Durga in Mahishasuramardani avatar which was stolen about 20 years ago from a temple situated in Jammu and Kashmir to Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi on October 5, 2015. In an interview with the “Hindustan Times” daily, the German minister said: “A reliable legal and administrative framework is indispensable for German companies in India”. “This has been a productive visit, which has taken India-Germany ties to newer heights”, Modi tweeted.
“It’s our hope that this matter would be looked at fairly and sensibly and would hopefully not be an impediment to the free trade deal”, Foreign Secretary Subrahmanian Jaishankar told a briefing.
This forms part of the composite dialogue between India and Germany that resulted in the two sides inking 18 MoUs extending bilateral cooperation in a wide range of areas. She is on a three-day visit to the country.
The two countries also signed a pact for deployment of sky marshals on board certain flights between the two countries to strengthen anti-hijacking measures.
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After the leaders toured a German engineering factory in India’s technology hub of Bangalore, Modi called on the European powerhouse to invest in Asia’s third largest economy to provide jobs for millions of young people.
