PM Modi with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Saturday discussed deepening bilateral ties in various fields including clean energy, trade, defense and new technology. Stating the need to find a solution to the Russia-Ukraine conflict through dialogue and diplomacy, Prime Minister Modi said that India is ready to contribute to any peace process. In the meeting, views were exchanged between the two sides in the areas of Russia-Ukraine conflict, digital transformation, fintech, information technology, telecommunications and supply chain diversification, clean energy.
‘Covid pandemic and Ukraine conflict have had an impact on the whole world’ – PM Modi
In a joint press statement after the meeting with Scholz, Prime Minister Modi said, “The effects of the COVID pandemic and the Ukraine conflict have been felt across the globe. This has had a particularly negative impact on developing countries. We expressed our shared concern about this.” He said that we agreed that the solution of these problems is possible only through joint efforts and India is making efforts in this direction even during the presidency of G20. The Prime Minister said, “Since the beginning of the developments in Ukraine, India has insisted on resolving this dispute through dialogue and diplomacy. India is ready to contribute to any peace process.
PM Modi with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz
At the same time, the Chancellor of Germany said that we want to ensure that the countries of Asia, Africa, America do not have negative impact of aggressive war. “The war in Ukraine has caused enormous damage, destroying infrastructure and energy grids. It’s a disaster. The world is being affected by the consequences of the Russian aggression.” Scholz said the war violates a fundamental principle that we all agree on, that you cannot change borders (of countries) through violence.
German Chancellor is on a two-day visit to India
The Chancellor of Germany arrived in India on Saturday on a two-day visit. This is Scholz’s first visit to India after becoming Chancellor of Germany in December 2021 after Angela Merkel’s historic 16-year tenure at the top post. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Modi said that the business delegation that came today with Chancellor Scholz and Indian businessmen had a successful meeting, and there were some good agreements, very important agreements. He said that useful ideas and suggestions were also received from leading industrialists of both the countries on topics like digital transformation, fintech, information technology, telecom and supply chain diversification. Modi said that there is active cooperation between India and Germany in the fight against terrorism and separatism. He said, “Both countries also agree that concerted action is necessary to end cross-border terrorism.”
PM Modi with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz
The Prime Minister said, “We also reiterated the agreement that multilateral institutions need to be reformed to better reflect global realities.” This is evident from our active participation. It is known that the G4 group refers to India, Japan, Germany and Brazil, who have been insisting on the need for expansion in the United Nations Security Council. The Prime Minister said that today due to the “Make in India” and “Atmanirbhar Bharat” campaigns, new opportunities are opening up in India in all sectors and we are encouraged by Germany’s interest in these opportunities. He said, “India and Germany are increasing mutual cooperation for the development of third countries under the triangular development cooperation. Our people-to-people relations have also strengthened in the last few years.
PM Modi’s meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz
Modi said that during my visit to Germany last year, we had announced the Green and Sustainable Development Alliance and through this, cooperation in the areas of climate action and sustainable development goals is increasing. The Prime Minister said that security and defense cooperation can become an important pillar of our strategic partnership and “we will continue to work together to fully realize the untapped potential in this area”. Said that the growing cooperation between the world’s two largest democratic economies is beneficial for the people of both the countries, as well as sends a positive message in today’s tension-ridden world. He said that strong ties between India and Germany, shared democratic are based on a deep understanding of values, and interests of each other and there is also a long history of cultural and economic exchanges between the two countries.