German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier started his two-day tour of Tamil Nadu on Sunday with a visit to the plant of a German auto-maker near here and the premier technical institute, IIT, Madras. Steinmeier visited the facility of Daimler India Commercial Vehicle (DICV) at Oragadam near here, where he was welcomed by the company’s India Managing Director and CEO, Erich Nesselhauf.
Steinmeier undertook a tour of the manufacturing plant. The German president, who is on a five-day visit to India, arrived in the city in the afternoon. later, he visited the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, a premier institution set up with German assistance in the 1950s. “He interacted with start-ups incubated by IIT Madras and witnessed demonstrations of products developed by them,” the institute said in a release. The President also visited the Healthcare Technology Innovation Centre (HTIC), a multi-disciplinary Research and Development centre located at the Research Park. An Indo-German Agreement in Bonn in 1959 resulted in the establishment of the IIT here, the release recalled.
“IIT-M has collaborations with several top educational institutions in Germany and also has an Indo-German Centre for Sustainability on campus,which aims at developing the capacity and the capability to promote sustainable development in Germany, India and South Asia,” it added. Steinmeier, accompanied German Ambassador to India Martin Ney by among others, was received by IIT-M Director Bhaskar Ramamurthi. Earlier, on his arrival here, the German President was accorded a traditional welcome at the airport,and was received by Tamil Nadu Fisheries Minister D Jayakumar on behalf or the state. A Bharatnatyam performance was given for the President at the airport and a video of it was uploaded on the official Twitter handle of the German Embassy, @GermanyinIndia. “Very cordial welcome for German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier at Madras Airport Station, Chennai. looking forward to our meetings in Tamil Nadu,” @GermanyinIndia, said in a tweet. Meanwhile, Steinmeier’s wife, Elke Budenbende, also had a couple of engagements. The First lady visited the office of an NGO, working in the area of children’s rights and interacted with children, young men and women.
She held discussions with UNICEF India representative Yasmin A Haque there. Budenbende later inaugurated a domestic and burn violence hotline of an NGO at Anna Nagar here. She also visited the famous Sri Kapaleeshwarar temple, a Shaivite shrine, in the city and offered prayers.
After arriving in India on Thursday, the German President had visited Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. He also had an interaction with students at Delhi University. On Saturday, Steinmeier held wide-ranging talks with the Indian leadership, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu. He also met President Ram Nath Kovind at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. After a visit to the sea-side town of Mahabalipuram near here tomorrow, he is scheduled to return to Germany.