PM Modi arrives in Berlin; here is his itinerary for the day

Upon receiving a warm welcome in Berlin, the Prime Minister tweeted to inform that he will be holding talks with Chancellor Olaf Scholz, interacting with business leaders and addressing a community programme. 

<I>Image: Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives to a warm reception in Berlin. Photograph: MEA</I>

Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in the German capital Berlin on Monday on the first leg of his three-nation tour that will also see him travelling to Denmark and France.

During his visit, the Prime Minister would look to reinvigorate the India-Germany Strategic Partnership and enhance the multilateral coordination between the two countries. This is Prime Minister Modi's fifth visit to the country since 2015.

Upon receiving a warm welcome in Berlin, the Prime Minister tweeted to inform that he will be holding talks with Chancellor Olaf Scholz, interacting with business leaders and addressing a community programme. 

This will be Prime Minister's first meeting with Scholz since the latter took over as Chancellor in December 2021. The two leaders last met on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Rome in October 2021 when Scholz was finance minister.

The Prime Minister said he was confident that his visit will boost the friendship between India and Germany. The timing of the visit is significant considering the ongoing tensions in Eastern Europe and Russia's continued military offensive against Ukraine.

Here is the detailed itinerary of Prime Minister Modi in Berlin:

* PM Modi to attend the sixth Inter-Governmental Consultations with Chancellor Olaf Scholz. The IGC, held biennially and to be attended by key ministers like Foreign Minister S Jaishankar and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, among others, allows both governments to coordinate on a wide spectrum of bilateral issues.

* Therafter, Prime Minister Modi and Chancellor Scholz will lead a business round table with CEOs of top German and Indian firms. This meeting is expected to reinforce business to business ties between the two countries. To note, Germany is India'slargest trading partner in Europe with a bilateral trade of over $21 billion.

* Also on the agenda is a meeting with the Indian Diaspora in Germany. According to reports, there are around 200,000 Diaspora members residing in the country.