New Delhi: Ahead of the first Indo-German
government consultations to be led by Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Foreign Ministers
of the two countries on Monday held deliberations on key issues,
including counter terrorism and the situation in the region.
Merkel, who is arriving here tomorrow with several
other cabinet ministers, will hold talks on important global,
regional and bilateral issues such as regional situation with
a focus on security situation in Pakistan and Afghanistan, UN
reforms and enhance cooperation in areas of defence, security
and trade.
A number of agreements are also likely to be signed in
the field of science and technology and vocational training
among other areas after the meeting.
With the exception of Israel, Germany for the first time
is engaging in a cabinet-level meeting with any non-European
country, indicating "a political signal" to enhance the
bilateral ties.
During their talks, External Affairs Minister SM
Krishna and his German counterpart Guido Westerwelle discussed
wide-ranging issues such as combating international terrorism,
recent regional developments, working towards reform of the
United Nations Security Council and cooperation in the field
of environment technologies and sustainable development,
according to officials.
PTI
