A file photo of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz interacting with PM Modi in Germany. (Photo | AP)
NEW DELHI: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will pay a state visit to India on February 25 and 26, his first trip to the country more than a year after he took charge as Chancellor. The German Chancellor will be accompanied by senior government officials and a high-powered business delegation, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
He will be in Delhi on February 25th and then go to Bengaluru on the 26th of February. He is scheduled to arrive in Delhi on February 25 and will proceed to Bengaluru on February 26, the MEA said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chancellor Scholz will hold discussions on bilateral, regional and global issues. “Chancellor Scholz’s visit to the country 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 the opportunity for mobility of talent and give strategic guidance to ongoing collaboration in science and technology,” the MEA said.
At the Munich Security Conference, Chancellor Scholz also quoted Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and said, “Eupore has to get out of the mindset that Europe’s problems are the world’s problems, but the world’s problems are not Europe’s problems — this quote from the Indian Foreign Minister is included in this year’s Munich Security Report and he has a point. It wouldn’t be Europe’s problem alone if the law of the strong were to assert itself in international relations.”
PM Modi and Chancellor Scholz will also interact with CEOs and business leaders from both sides.
“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 the Prime Minister and Chancellor,” the MEA said in a statement.
