New Delhi, Feb 26 (Bureau) Prime Minister Narendra Modi and visiting German Chancellor Olaf Scholz held productive talks here today, with the discussions focusing on boosting their trade ties, as well as in the field of renewable energy, green hydrogen and security cooperation. PM Modi, in tweets on the talks said: “Held productive talks with Chancellor @OlafScholz. “Our talks focussed on ways to boost India-Germany cooperation and further augment trade ties. We also agreed to deepen ties in renewable energy, green hydrogen and biofuels. Security cooperation was also discussed.” He said the two leaders also met top CEOs to discuss ways to strengthen the economic cooperation. “Chancellor @OlafScholz and I met top CEOs to discuss ways to strengthen economic relations between our nations. Sectors like digital transformation, FinTech, IT and Telecom featured prominently in the meeting.” The German Chancellor, in a tweet ahead of the talks, said: “Prime Minister @narendramodi received me warmly in sunny New Delhi. It is already our fourth meeting. #India and Germany have very good relations and want to strengthen them.
That will be the topic of our talks and, importantly, peace in the world.” Chancellor Olaf Scholz also called on President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan. In her comments, President Murmu said that as vibrant and pluralist democracies, India and Germany can play an important role in addressing new and emerging global challenges, a tweet from Rashtrapati Bhavan said. The two countries today inked two government-to-government outcomes, including a Vision Document on Innovation and Technology, as well as some business-to-business outcomes during the India visit of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. The two government-to-government outcomes are: India-Germany Vision to Enhance Cooperation in Innovation and Technology; and a Letter of Intent between the Department of Science & Technology and the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems for Cooperation in Green Hydrogen and Clean Energy Technologies.
The B2B Outcomes/Announcements include: Announcement on organization of the Asia Pacific Conference (APK) in India in 2024; An MoU between Skill Council of Green Jobs and Bundesverband Solarwirtschaft e.V.; and SFC Energy AG and FC TecNrgy Pvt Ltd: Incorporation of SFC’s Indian subsidiary and cross-shareholding with Indian partner. The Vision Document has five key elements: Energy partnership and clean technologies, including green hydrogen; Strengthening the framework and ecosystem for Indo-German business relations to thrive; Digital technologies, including fintech; Artificial Intelligence; and the opportunity for both sides to cooperate in next gen telecom tech like 5G, 6G.
The Vision Document said that “India and Germany aim to utilize synergies and institutional linkages forged between the two countries through existing cooperation. “On the occasion of their meeting on 25th February 2023 in New Delhi, Prime Minister Modi and Chancellor Scholz agreed to deepen and widen this cooperation and to work towards a roadmap for innovation and technology with a view to using scientific and technological knowledge for the economic development of both countries as well as to address global challenges. “India and Germany recognize the close ties that have been nurtured through the decades, reaffirmed in 2022 by the India-German Green and Sustainable Development Partnership (GSDP), and acknowledge the positive and proactive roles of the governments, institutions, academia and industry on both sides, which has led to the emergence of Germany as one of India’s prime partners for technological collaborations.”