German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will sweep across the north to the south in his five-day visit to India, packing in Varanasi, Delhi and Chennai.
The president arrived in India on Thursday and flew to Varanasi, where he will be given the Ganga aarti —now a must-have in the foreign dignitary itinerary. There is also Sarnath and Jama Masjid on his list, before he begins the commercial part of his visit in Chennai, which is a hub for German business.
The president, who has recently been sworn in, will focus on strengthening the bilateral ties. There will be meetings with the External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj as well as Vice President Venkaiah Naidu.
India, with its clean energy goals, will be looking for German help. Germany has already committed three million euros in the Clean Ganga initiative, launched by the government.
Ahead of the president's visit, Prime Minister Modi made a call to German Chancellor Angela Merkel to congratulate her on assuming office for a fourth term. “Prime Minister Modi reiterated his commitment...for deepening and strengthening the Indo-German bilateral relationship,'' a press release issued by the ministry of external affairs stated.
Trade relations between both the countries has been improving. In 2016-17 the bilateral trade turnover was US$ 18.76 billion. With Germany emerging as the biggest influencer in EU, the close ties between the two countries do count a lot.
The German president will also deliver a speech on 'India and Germany—Ideas and Perspectives' at University of Delhi. He will also visit the Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology.
In Chennai, the president will the visit production and training centre at Daimler India Commercial Vehicles and will also pay a visit to the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) at Madras Research Park— an important starting point for modern German-Indian technological cooperation.