India is also a partner in investment: Angela Merkel

Bengaluru: German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday said India is not only Germany's trading partner but is also a partner in investment.

Addressing the business forum organized by NASSCOM and Frauenhofer Institute here, Merkel said Germany is the most important trading partner of India in the European Union.

"Last year, the bilateral trade volume hovered round 16 billion euro. 2015 promises to be a year of increased growth," she added.

She said that more than 1,600 German companies are active in India, with some of them even for longer than 100 years.

"With the volume of almost 10 billion euros, Germany is one of the most important direct investors in India," she said.

Merkel further said the advantages for German companies in India are its huge market, a great growth potential and an impressive capacity for innovation.

"Beyond IT, our two countries have tremendous opportunity for cooperation particularly in the infrastructure forum, for example in the railways sector and energy sector," she said.

"As in other countries, our investments in India also depend on the framework conditions made available to businesses," she added.

The German Chancellor also invited the Indian investors to her country.

"A comprehensive agreement is of tremendous importance in economic partnership between India and the European Union. For Germany of course I can say that Indian investors will be warmly welcomed," Merkel said.

"Indian companies will find excellent conditions on the ground, we are centrally located in Europe, we have very strong infrastructure, we have excellently qualified labour and our technology is excellent and it is also one of the major drivers of innovation in Germany," she added.

Merkel further said that German engineering and India's IT brilliance are fused in the Asian Silicon Valley.

"170 German companies are represented in Bangalore alone and they have proved to be a very important and reliable engine in development in this region. The fact that they are taking on investment in this region speaks eloquently of the Indo-German economic relations," she said.

Merkel informed that a number of Indian and German institutions are already part of the bilateral agreements.

"More and more Indian students in Germany can actually study German engineering. Around 12,000 students have registered in the German institutions," she said.

Merkel further said that the heads of the two countries would meet again in Turkey for the G-20 Summit.

"This is a forum that has become increasingly important in the past years. Indeed it is most important that the emerging economies and industrialised countries can both move in the same direction to get closer to our goal to establish sustainable conditions for growth of global economy," she said.

"The agenda 2030 is in many ways our guideline in allowing millions of people in the next 15 years to enjoy a better life," she added.