New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday will start his four-nation tour of Germany, Spain, Russia and France, whose aim is to boost India’s economic engagement with these nations and inviting more investment, he said on Sunday.
In a six-day trip, he’ll be visiting Germany first and will talk with Chancellor Angela Merkel under the framework of India-Germany Intergovernmental Consultations (IGC). He will also call on German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
PM Modi and Merkel will also interact with top business leaders of both the countries to further strengthen the trade and investment ties in Berlin, reported the HT.
“I am confident that this visit will open a new chapter in our bilateral cooperation with Germany and further deepen our Strategic Partnership,” he said in a Facebook post.
The PM on Tuesday will travel to Spain for an official visit, the first by an Indian prime minister in almost three decades. He will call on King Felipe VI and hold talks with President Mariano Rajoy. From Spain, the prime minister will travel to St. Petersburg in Russia from May 31 to June 2 for the 18th India-Russia Annual Summit. “…I will be conducting detailed discussions with President Putin to take forward our dialogue from the last Summit in Goa in October 2016,” he said.
The two leaders will also be interacting with CEOs from the two countries. On June 2, Modi and Putin will address the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) where India is the ‘guest country’. “In a first meeting of its kind, I will also have the opportunity to engage with Governors from various Russian regions to further broad base bilateral cooperation and more actively involve States/Regions and other diversified stakeholders,” he said. In the last leg of the tour, he will visit France from June 2 to 3 for an official meeting with the newly-elected French President Emmanuel Macron.
“France is one of our most important Strategic Partners. I look forward to meeting President Macron and have discussions on issues of mutual interest,” Modi said. France is India’s 9th largest investment partner and a key partner in its development initiatives in the area of defence, space, nuclear and renewable energy, urban development and railways. “I am committed to substantially strengthening and advancing our multi-faceted partnership with France,” the prime minister said.