India a reliable partner, says Merkel after talks with Modi; signs 8 agreements

Berlin: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is in Germany as part of his four-nation tour, signed eight agreements on Tuesday with Germany, after a meeting with its Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Following their talks, the two sides signed a joint declaration of intent on cyber politics, development initiatives, sustainable urban development, continued development of cluster managers and skill development, cooperation in the field of digitalisation, cooperation in the field of railway security, promoting vocational training and continued cooperation on an Indo-German centre for sustainability.

Modi, who along with Merkel held the fourth India-Germany Intergovernmental Consultations (IGC) to set a roadmap for the bilateral strategic ties, said they conducted a comprehensive review of bilateral relations.

Addressing a joint press conference with Merkel, Modi said that he had discussed a variety of topics with his German counterpart, terming the relationship 'made for each other'.

“I have interacted with Chancellor Merkel on multiple occasions and I have always admired her insight on a wide range of issues. We had wide-ranging discussions today. India-Germany partnership will help our nations and also help the world,” said Modi.

Praising Germany for its work in skill development, Modi also said that the country’s progress has set global standards and will help India’s youth.

He also said that areas such as science and technology has been given importance during the visit and is expecting a driven gain in economic ties.

“We are looking at outcome oriented momentum in India-Germany ties and a quantum jump especially in economic ties,” Modi said.

He further said, “India is giving an impetus to next-generation infrastructure and this is an area in which we want to work extensively with Germany.”

Merkel, on the other hand, said that India proved to be a reliable partner after talks with Modi.

“We witnessed the signing of no. of agreements/declaration of intent. A total of 1 billion euros will go into development cooperation,” she stated.