PM Modi arrives in Germany on first leg of his Europe visit

Berlin: Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived at Berlin-Brandenburg airport in Germany on the first leg of his visit to three European nations on Monday.

During his three-day visit, PM Modi will hold his first in-person meeting with the newly appointed Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

PM Modi and Olaf Scholz will also co-chair the 6th India-Germany Inter-Governmental Consultations (IGC).

India has the IGC only with Germany, which is held every two years. The 6th IGC will be followed by a high-level roundtable where PM and Chancellor Scholz will interact with the top CEOs of both countries.

PM Modi will also interact and address the Indian diaspora in Germany.

In his departure statement ahead of the three-nation visit, the Prime Minister had said that his visit to Berlin will be an opportunity to hold detailed bilateral discussions with Chancellor Scholz.

"I see this IGC as an early engagement with the new government in Germany, within six months of its formation, which will be helpful to identify our priorities for the medium and long term," he said.

India and Germany have had a 'Strategic Partnership' since 2001, which has been further strengthened with three rounds of Intergovernmental Consultations (IGC).

The last IGC was co-chaired by PM Modi and German Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel who visited India. The fifth round of IGC was held from October 31-November 1, 2019. The consultations were delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Noting the long-standing commercial ties between India and Germany, the Prime Minister informed that he will also jointly address a business roundtable with the goal of energizing industry to industry cooperation, which will help strengthen the post-Covid economic recovery in both the countries.

PM Modi's three-nation visit will have a substantial and comprehensive agenda during his bilateral and multilateral meetings.

PM Modi is also scheduled to visit Denmark on Tuesday to hold talks with leaders from Nordic countries, along with other high-level interactions, the visit will conclude with a stopover in Paris on Wednesday where the Prime Minister will meet the newly re-elected French President Emmanuel Macron.