Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh left for New Delhi after completing three-day state visit to Germany today. Before his departure from Berlin, Dr Singh called on German President Mr Joachim Gauck at Bellevue Palace, the office of the German President. The Prime Minister, accompanied by five senior cabinet colleagues arrived in Berlin on April 10th to take part in the second intergovernmental consultations with Germany.
India and Germany agreed to explore new areas of cooperation and decided to continue the successful format of Intergovernmental consultations IGC for mutual benefit. They agreed to further reinforce cooperation in the areas of higher education, research and technology.
In a joint statement issued by Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and German chancellor Angela Merkel at the end of second IGC, both the countries decided to facilitate Free movement of business visitors to encourage investment flows between the two countries. The statement noted that cooperation between small and medium enterprises in both the countries would be promoted to develop new products and markets.
In the area of vocational education, Germany will extend support to set up Advanced Training Institute on Energy-Efficient Construction Technology and other Institutions of higher vocational learning. German language will be introduced in 1000 schools in India over the next five years. A new jointly funded programme entitled “Indo-German Strategic Partnerships in Higher Education” (IGSP) will be launched to promote joint research projects and educational exchanges. Both sides will work together in areas like natural disaster management; health outbreaks; urban security. Both countries will facilitate cooperation in the area of electric vehicle technologies, production and development with a view to protect environment. The joint statement says that Germany will offer its assistance in setting up green energy corridors in India. It will extend financial and technical support to set up non-renewable projects in India. Both countries will take up a joint project on plant variety protection and seed legislation to promote sustainable agriculture. They called for effective and viable solutions to the pressing problems of climate change. The issues pertaining to this will be discussed at the Second Indo-German Environment Forum scheduled in New Delhi next year. Hoping that the FTA between India and Germany would generate jobs and growth in both the country , both the leaders desired for its conclusion this year.
India and Germany decided to intensify consultations within the G20 and strengthen the G20’s role as the premier forum for international economic and financial cooperation. They hoped that a consensus will be achieved on trade facilitation at the 9th WTO Ministerial Conference to bring Doha Round of consultation to a conclusion. Both the countries decided to exchange experience and knowledge in the areas of cyber policy, combating terrorism and defence collaboration. They decided to continue bilateral dialogue on export control regime. Both sides agreed to cooperate in strengthening global non-proliferation efforts. They stressed the importance of a diplomatic resolution to the Iranian nuclear issue.
The joint statement issued by India and Germany at the end of consultations reflects the strong inclination of both the countries to take forward the bilateral ties. The statement brings out the fact that both countries are determined to reinforce existing partnerships in several fields and also explore new avenues of cooperation. At the second IGC forum, the Prime Minister made India’s stand clear to global community on several issues, particularly his government’s resolve to achieve 8% growth rate.
