Munich, May 30: Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee has proposed a partnership between Bavaria, an industrial hub of Germany, and one of the Indian cities in the entire range of the knowledge trade. In a statement after a meeting with minister-president of Bavaria Edmund Stoiber, he said Hyderabad, Bangalore and New Delhi were also developing useful e-governance systems. "There may be mutual advantages in sharing experiences. I have proposed a partnership between Bavaria and one of our cities in the entire range of the knowledge trade." Vajpayee said it was remarkable in the midst of a slow-down in the global and European economy all around, Bavaria has maintained a steady economic growth path. This was a tribute to technological excellence and sound economic management. Maintaining that there was genuine willingness in Germany to widen bilateral interaction and deepen partnership which was very evident in Bavaria, he said the discussions with the Bavarian leader had been very productive covering ways to increase trade between Bavaria and India which was currently around 500 million euros.

Only 11 per cent of Indian exports to Germany reached this state dominated by traditional items such as textiles and manufacturers. With the internet capital of Germany so closely linked to India's it capital of Bangalore, India could have expected a greater share of the products of "new economy" in the bilateral trade.

"Our business communities need to focus their attention on this."

Bureau Report