New Delhi: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has arrived in New Delhi for a two-day state visit at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the 7th Intergovernmental Consultations (IGC). The Chancellor landed in Delhi on Wednesday. PM Modi and Scholz will meet on October 25 at the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's official residence, 7, Lok Kalyan Marg after which they will inaugurate the 18th Asia-Pacific Conference of German Business 2024 at Hotel Taj Palace. The two leaders will hold the Inter-Governmental Consultations and are scheduled to have discussions on enhanced security and defence cooperation, greater opportunities for the mobility of talent, deeper economic cooperation, Green and Sustainable Development Partnership and collaboration in the area of emerging and strategic technologies. On the second day of his visit, Chancellor Scholz will arrive in Goa where the German naval frigate "Baden-Wuerttemberg" and combat support ship "Frankfurt am Main" will make a scheduled port call as part of Germany's Indo-Pacific deployment. The Chancellor's departure will take place later in the day, concluding his trip to India. Germany is one of India's most important partners in Europe. The two countries have a 'Strategic Partnership' in place since 2000, which has been further strengthened with the launch of Intergovernmental Consultations (IGC) at the level of Heads of Government. The two countries have collaborations on various fronts such as defence, science and technology, investments and higher education. India and Germany share a robust economic and developmental partnership. The country is home to a large number of people from the Indian diaspora who have positively contributed in the growth of the country. Chancellor Scholz had visited India twice last year, for a bilateral State Visit in February 2023 and to attend the G20 Leaders' Summit in September 2023.
