Berlin: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he had a “very good interaction” when he met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday in his rural retreat near Berlin for informal talks about a private dinner.
The two leaders enjoyed the sun with a walk on the grounds of the Schloss Meseberg, a baroque castle of the eighteenth century in the district of Brandenburg in Germany, which is the official guest house of the German Chancellor’s State.
“He had a very good interaction with Chancellor Merkel,” Modi said in a tweet after his meeting, which began with the signing of the guest book at Schloss Meseberg. The meeting has been described as a very informal affair, with the more formal engagements of Modi’s two-day visit to Germany set for tomorrow.
“The bonds of a fruitful association, Chancellor Merkel receives Prime Minister Modi at the Schloss Messeberg before a private dinner,” said a statement from the Foreign Ministry on Twitter, along with images of the two leaders in conversation in the luxurious Gardens of the grand palace.
Meanwhile, Modi’s high-level delegation of Ministers, including Minister of Commerce Nirmala Sitharaman, Energy Minister Piyush Goyal and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs M J Akbar,
German counterparts.
Modi had arrived in Berlin on Monday at the start of his six-day, four-country tour of Germany, Spain, Russia and France. In an interview with the German newspaper Handelsblatt, he had urged Europe to play a leading role in the fight against the threat of terrorism.
“Europe has been hit hard by terrorism, and terrorism is the biggest challenge facing humanity, Europe must play a leading role in developing an effective global response under the aegis of the United Nations to address this threat “.
On the Indo-German ties, he said that India sees Germany as a major partner in the national flagship programs of Make in India, Skill India, Start-up India, Clean India and Smart Cities.
“We are keen to attract Germany’s Mittelstand [small and medium-sized enterprises] to partner with us in our Make in India program. We are committed to providing an ecosystem of business support to those who join us in our growth history,” he said.
“We have established dedicated platforms to support German companies and investments in India. There is a strong commitment from leaders of both sides to strengthen economic relations. I am very optimistic about this partnership,” he added.
Referring to Germany as host of the G20 summit in Hamburg in July, the PM offered full support from India for a successful outcome. “The G20 has emerged as a leading forum for coordinating international and financial affairs, and we hope the G20 can increase global growth,” he said.
Modi is preparing for a welcoming ceremony at the Chancellery, the German Chancellor’s office, after which he will hold formal talks with Merkel in the framework of the India-Germany Intergovernmental Consultations [IGC] tomorrow.
The two leaders are expected to make a number of agreements and, in Modi’s own words, “will outline a future roadmap for cooperation focusing on trade and investment, security and counter-terrorism, innovation And science and technology,, Railways and civil aviation, clean energy, development cooperation, health and alternative medicine. ”
Modi and Chancellor Merkel will also meet with senior business leaders before opening the Indo-German Business Forum tomorrow. Modi will finalize his German tour with a courtesy visit to the German president, Dr. Frank-Walter Steinmeier, in his official residence of the Castle of Bellevue before leaving for Spain.
