Prime Minister of India - Dr. Manmohan Singh

PM's opening statement at Joint Press Interaction in Berlin

"I thank Chancellor Merkel for her very warm words and for her gracious hospitality. It is a great pleasure for me to visit Germany once again, and to meet with Chancellor Merkel. I have great personal admiration for Chancellor Merkel and for her leadership.

India's relations with Germany are excellent. There are no bilateral irritants and I believe that the sky is the limit for our cooperation. This happy state of affairs has been made possible due to the Chancellor's personal guidance of our partnership, for which we are most grateful.

Germany is the economic powerhouse of Europe, and India's largest trading partner in Europe. It is playing a key role in ensuring financial stability and economic recovery in the Eurozone. I conveyed India's full support to Chancellor Merkel in this endeavour.

The economic resurgence of Europe is critical for a balanced recovery of the global economy. We have agreed to continue our close consultations within the G-20 framework to work towards such an outcome.

India and Germany will both be on the United Nations Security Council in 2011 and 2012. We will work closely with Germany both bilaterally and within the G-4, to enhance the effectiveness of the Security Council, as well as in support of the expansion of the permanent and non-permanent categories of its membership.

The world must continue to build upon the progress has been made at the Cancun Conference on Climate Change. India will play its part in arriving at a pragmatic and balanced solution within the framework of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

On the bilateral side, we deeply value Germany's consistent support, including in the Nuclear Suppliers Group, for the opening of international commerce for India in the field of civil nuclear energy. We have discussed the possibilities of entering into bilateral cooperation in civil nuclear energy.

German excellence in the manufacturing and infrastructure sectors is well known. We welcome the steady growth of German investments in India. Despite the economic downturn, we are hopeful that the target of achieving bilateral trade of 20 billion Euros by 2012 will be achieved.

There is vast untapped potential for high technology trade between India and Germany, and I conveyed to Chancellor Merkel that relaxation of German export control laws will open new horizons for such trade. This will be to our mutual benefit.

In 2007, we had identified science and technology as a central pillar of our partnership. We have agreed today to continue to enhance our cooperation in the fields of higher education and renewable energy and energy efficiency.

Vocational training and skill development has emerged as a high priority for our Government. It is critical for the success of our socio-economic development plans. We have chosen Germany as our preferred partner in this field and I am happy to announce that we have agreed to significantly scale up our cooperation in this sector.

Next year marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Germany. Germany will organize a Year of Germany in India beginning September 2011, and India will organize the Days of India in Germany during 2012-13. I have invited Chancellor Merkel to visit India next year, and I look forward to hosting her in Delhi.

Relations between our two countries are based on the strong foundations of shared values of freedom, democracy and respect for fundamental rights. Our strategic partnership has evolved tremendously in recent years. I look forward to working with Chancellor Merkel to further strengthen and deepen this partnership.

Thank you."