Modi leaves on four-nation European tour

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday left for Germany on a six-day four-nation tour of Europe that will also take him to Spain, Russia and France.

"A week of vigorous diplomacy as PM departs," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Gopal Baglay tweeted.

Modi and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will on Tuesday hold the fourth biannual Inter-Governmental Consultations following which a number of agreements across different sectors are expected to be signed.

Modi will address the Indo-German Business Forum that will see the participation of top German CEOs.

He will leave for Spain on May 30 evening in what would be the first Indian Prime Ministerial visit to that country in nearly 30 years after Rajiv Gandhi's in 1988.

Modi will hold a bilateral summit with his Spanish counterpart Mariano Rajoy on May 31 in Madrid and also call on King Felipe VI.

Thereafter, he will leave for Russia where he will hold the 18th annual India-Russia bilateral summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg on June 1 and attend the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, a business event, the next day.

The Prime Minister will reach Paris on June 2 evening and hold a bilateral summit with newly elected French President Emmanuel Macron the following day before returning to India.