New Delhi, Jan 5 (Bureau) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday congratulated new German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on taking over the reins of Germany and said he looks forward to working with him to further strengthen the bilateral strategic partnership. The PM, who spoke with the German Chancellor over phone, also said he looks forward to meeting him soon for the 6th Inter-Governmental Consultations. In a tweet, the PM said: “Spoke to @OlafScholz today and congratulated him on assuming charge as German Chancellor. I look forward to working with him to further strengthen the India-Germany Strategic Partnership, and to meeting him soon for the 6th Inter-Governmental Consultations.” An official statement on the phone call, said the PM expressed his appreciation for the immense contribution of former Chancellor Angela Merkel in strengthening the India-Germany Strategic Partnership, and looked forward to continuing this positive momentum under the leadership of Scholz.
The two leaders agreed that there was significant synergy in the governance priorities announced by the new German Government and India’s own economic vision. They reviewed the potential of ongoing cooperation initiatives, including for promoting investment and trade links. They agreed on the potential for further diversifying cooperation and exchanges in new areas. In particular, they expressed the hope to commence new cooperation initiatives in the areas of Climate Action and Green Energy, to enable both countries to achieve their respective climate commitments. Prime Minister Modi conveyed his good wishes for the New Year to Chancellor Scholz and to the German people, and looked forward to meeting him soon for the next meeting of the bilateral Inter-Governmental Consultation, the statement said.
In October last year on the sidelines of the G20 in Rome, PM Modi had been introduced to Olaf Scholz during the bilateral meeting with outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel. A photo of the bilateral meeting showed Olaf Scholz seated next to Chancellor Merkel. He was attending the G-20 in his capacity as finance minister, and was part of Merkel’s bilateral meetings with other world leaders, including with US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron. Scholz was sworn in as Germany’s new Chancellor on December 8, ending Angela Merkel’s historic 16 years as leader. Germany has taken over the G7 rotating presidency from January 1.