German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to visit New Delhi on Feb 25 - 26

New Delhi, Feb 21: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will be on a State visit to India on February 25 and 26, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a press release. Chancellor Scholz will be accompanied by senior officials and a high-powered business delegation.

 

 

 

 

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is scheduled to arrive in New Delhi on Feb 25 and will proceed to Bengaluru on Feb 26, the MEA press release said. This is the first standalone visit of a German Chancellor to India since the biennial Inter-Governmental Consultation (IGC) mechanism commenced in 2011, which is a whole-of-government framework under which Ministers from both countries hold discussions in their respective areas of responsibility and report on the outcome of discussions to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chancellor Scholz, read the release.

 

 

 

 

 

Scholz will be accorded a ceremonial welcome at the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhawan. Prime Minister and Chancellor will hold discussions on bilateral, regional and global issues. The two Leaders will also interact with CEOs and business leaders of both sides. Scholz will also call on President Droupadi Murmu, added the release. The India-Germany Strategic Partnership is underpinned by shared values, trust and mutual understanding. Robust investment and trade linkages, cooperation in green and sustainable development and growing people-to-people ties have strengthened bilateral relations, it said.

 

Chancellor Scholz's visit will enable both sides to take stock and progress on the key outcomes of the 6th IGC, strengthen security and defence cooperation, work towards closer economic ties, enhance opportunity for mobility of talent and give strategic guidance to ongoing collaboration in Science & Technology, added the release. Recently, Scholz quoted External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar's viral "European mindset" remark during the Munich Security Conference.