PM kickstarts 3-nation Europe visit; post-Covid economy among Germany agenda

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday night left for Berlin, Germany, as he kickstarts a crucial three-nation Europe visit where he is set to meet world leaders - German chancellor Olaf Scholz, Denmark prime minister Mette Frederiksen and French president Emmanuel Macron. Post-Covid economic recovery is one of the many agendas on the list with the prime minister set to attend several key events in Germany. The Ukraine war will also be in focus during the Europe visit, the government has said. 

His meeting with Schlolz comes after the two leaders interacted last year at G20 when he was the finance minister. Germany has a “significant proportion” of the 1 million population of the Indian diaspora in Europe, a statement from the prime minister’s office on Sunday highlighted. “The Indian Diaspora is an important anchor in our relations with Europe and therefore I will take the opportunity of my visit to the continent to meet our brothers and sisters there,” he said.

“PM @narendramodi emplanes for Berlin, where he will take part in various programmes aimed at strengthening India-Germany cooperation,” the PMO wrote in a late-night tweet.

At the India-Germany Intergovernmental Consultations (IGC), a biennial format which India holds only with Germany, centre is looking for “an early engagement with the new government” in the European nation. “In 2021, India and Germany commemorated 70 years of the establishment of diplomatic relations and have been strategic partners since 2000. I look forward to exchanging views with Chancellor Scholz on strategic, regional and global developments that concern us both,” the prime minister said on Sunday.

“The long standing commercial ties between India and Germany form one of the pillars of our Strategic Partnership, and Chancellor Scholz and I will also jointly address a Business Roundtable with the goal of energising our industry to industry cooperation, which will help strengthen the post-Covid economic recovery in both countries,” he added.