Manmohan Singh to pay bilateral visit to Germany

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, will be paying a bilateral visit to Berlin beginning on April 10 to participate in the second round of Inter Governmental Consultations with Germany.

New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, will be paying a bilateral visit to Berlin beginning on April 10 to participate in the second round of Inter Governmental Consultations with Germany.

Dr Singh will be accompanied by a high-level delegation, including ministers and senior officials. External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid, Minister of New and Renewable Energy Dr Farooq Abdullah, Minister of Science and Technology and Earth Sciences S Jaipal Reddy, Union Commerce, Industry and Textiles Minister Anand Sharma and Union Human Resource and Development (HRD) Minister Dr MM Pallam Raju are likely to be part of the delegation.

Dr Singh will arrive in Berlin on the evening of April 10 and will be hosted for dinner by the German Chancellor, Dr Angela Merkel.

He will be accorded a ceremonial welcome at the German State Chancellery in the morning of April 11 after which he will jointly chair the Inter Governmental Consultations with the German Chancellor. In the evening, Dr Singh will bring the "Days of India in Germany" to an end at a cultural event being organised to mark this occasion. India and Germany have been celebrating the 60th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Various events under the Days of India in Germany were held from May 2012 to March 2013, under the four themes: Connecting Minds, Connecting Capabilities, Connecting Ideas and Connecting Cultures.

Dr Singh will call on German President Joachim Gauck on April 12.

Relations between India and Germany have traditionally been cordial and close. With the establishment of the strategic partnership in 2000, there has been significant progress in all areas of bilateral cooperation through regular high-level exchanges at the Head of Government level, cooperation in strategic areas, growing economic and commercial ties and increased interaction in the fields of education, science and technology, culture and people-to-people relations.

Germany continues to be India`s largest trading partner in the Europe. India and Germany also work closely together in the international arena.

ANI

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