Germany has said it is on the same page with India on the One Belt One Road (OBOR) plan of China. German Ambassador to India Martin Ney said the OBOR and terrorism will be some of the key areas that India and Germany will discuss next week during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Berlin next week.
Modi will be in Berlin for the fourth inter-Governmental consultations with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on June 29-30, before he travels to Spain and Russia. India and Germany are set to sign agreements to boost trade and investment, besides exploring ways to step up Defence cooperation. Education, vocational training, renewable energy and railways are also other sectors where both sides are likely to ramp up engagement.
Briefing the media about the PM's visit, Ney said Modi and Merkel are likely to deliberate on a number of pressing global issues including the situation in South China Sea, China's 'Belt and Road' initiative and the growing threat of terrorism. The envoy said that even though Germany attended the OBOR conference in China last week, he was not expected his country's active participation in the Chinese plan since it appeared to be more one-country centric and to boost Chinese goods trade.
Ney said Germany was keen to expand its trade ties with India and signing Free Trade Agreement with India under European Union umbrella. A total of 1,800 German companies are operating in India. German companies have invested roughly Rs 53,000 crores in India since 2010. The volume last year was Rs 8,121 crore.
Terming terrorism as a major challenge fr the global community, Ney said Germany stands with India in fighting the menace. He added that his country has been sharing intelligence with the Indian Government. On Defence cooperation, he said Germany is ready to conclude a Government-to-Government agreement with India in Defence procurement.
"India is a strategic partner for Germany. Of course, we have our export control regimes and they will continue to govern our dealings in export. India is a strategic partner and providing stability in Asia and there is no reason why G-to-G approach should not make further progress," Ney said.
On May 30, Modi will be officially welcomed with military honours which will be followed by a plenary session where all matters of importance will be deliberated upon. It will be followed by signing of MoUs. Modi and Merkel will also have a luncheon meeting with business tycoons after which the Prime Minister will inaugurate the Indo-German business forum.