German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold comprehensive talks on Saturday covering the Ukraine conflict, situation in the Indo-Pacific and ways to boost bilateral ties in areas of clean energy, trade and new technologies.
Scholz is scheduled to arrive in Delhi on Saturday morning on a two-day State visit, his first to India after he became German Chancellor in December 2021 following Angela Merkel's historic 16-year tenure at the top post. He is travelling to India a day after the one-year anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
"We see Russia and Ukraine (conflict) very high on the agenda in the meeting between German Chancellor Scholz and Prime Minister Modi. It will be a very important part of the agenda," German Ambassador Philipp Ackermann said on Wednesday. People familiar with the broad agenda of the Modi-Scholz talks said the consequences of the conflict, especially on food and energy security, are expected to
The people said the talks will also focus on expanding cooperation in areas of trade, defence, clean energy, climate change and new technologies. The two leaders will also delve into the overall situation in the Indo-Pacific, a region that has witnessed growing Chinese assertiveness in the last few years.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chancellor Scholz held bilateral talks in the Indonesian resort city of Bali on November 16 on the sidelines of the G-20 summit. The first meeting between the two leaders took place during Modi's visit to Berlin on May 2 for the 6th India-Germany Inter-Governmental Consultations (IGC).
It was followed by Modi's visit to the Alpine castle of Schloss Elmau in southern Germany on June 26 and 27 to attend the annual summit of G7 grouping. Scholz invited Modi for the G7 summit under the German presidency.
The ties between India and Germany have been on an upswing in a range of key areas in the last few years. According to the official schedule, Scholz will arrive at around 9:15 am. He will be accorded a ceremonial reception at the Rashtrapati Bhawan at 10 am. After his talks with Modi, Scholz will attend a business meeting.
In the afternoon, he is scheduled to lay a wreath at Rajghat to pay respects to Mahatma Gandhi. The schedule put out by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the German Chancellor will also call on President Droupadi Murmu. On Sunday morning, Scholz will leave for Bengaluru and is set to depart from the city at around 5:30 pm.
