Angela Merkel In India For Inter-Governmental Talks; To Co-Chair Fifth IGC With PM Modi

This will also be the fifth meeting between the two leaders within a year.

Image tweeted by @MEAIndia

New Delhi: German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrived here on Thursday night on a two-day visit during which she, along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will co-chair the biennial Fifth Inter Governmental Consultations, after which around 20 bilateral agreements are set to be inked between the two sides. This will also be the fifth meeting between the two leaders within a year. "Enriching the strategic texture of our relationship. German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrived in Delhi beginning her State visit to India during which she, along with PM @narendramodi Awill co-chair the 5th IGC.This would be the 5th meeting between the leaders within a year," MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted.

Enriching the strategic texture of our relationship. German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrived in Delhi beginning her State visit to India during which she, along with PM @narendramodi will co-chair the 5th 🇮🇳- 🇩🇪 IGC.This would be the 5th meeting between the leaders within a year pic.twitter.com/Ie1lfafGf6

— Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) October 31, 2019

Merkel, who was received at the airport by Minister of State in the PMO, Jitendra Singh, is accompanied by around 12 ministers and 13 business leaders for the IGC consultations. The agreements to be inked between the two sides are to be in the fields of agriculture, green urban mobility, ayurveda, Artificial Intelligence, and civil aviation, among others. On Friday, she will hold talks with Prime Minister Modi along with her ministers in the IGC format, after which the two sides will ink several agreements, likely to be around 20, said German diplomatic sources. After the signing of agreements at Hyderabad House, she will also attend a Business Forum & Meeting at the same venue. Later in the afternoon, she will visit Gandhi Smriti, after which she will call on President Ram Nath Kovind at Rashtrapati Bhawan. In the evening, she will hold a meeting with PM Modi at his residence. On Saturday morning, Merkel will be meeting with a Business Delegation at the Taj Mahal hotel. She will then visit the Continental Automotive Components India Pvt Ltd facility in IMT Manesar, Gurgaon. She will also visit a metro station in Dwarka, her last engagement before leaving.