PRIME MINISTER Narendra Modi will “exchange perspectives” on the “Ukraine issue” and strengthen bilateral partnerships during his three-day, three-nation visit to Europe, newly appointed Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra said on Sunday. Modi will leave for Germany on Sunday night, and will meet German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin on Monday. He will then head to Denmark, where he will meet Danish PM Mette Frederiksen in Copenhagen —and also participate in the Second India-Nordic Summit with the prime ministers of Denmark, Iceland, Finland, Sweden and Norway on Tuesday. On the way back on Wednesday, Modi will make a brief stopover in Paris for a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron. In his departure statement on Sunday, Modi did not mention the Russia-Ukraine conflict directly. “My visit to Europe comes at a time when the region faces many challenges and choices. Through my engagements, I intend to strengthen the spirit of cooperation with our European partners, who are important companions in India’s quest for peace and prosperity,” he said. This is the Prime Minister's first visit abroad this year, and it includes about two dozen engagements across approximately 65 hours, official sources said. He will hold meetings, bilateral as well as multilateral, with world leaders from seven countries besides interacting with about 50 global business leaders. On his visit to Germany, Modi said: “My visit to Berlin will be an opportunity to hold detailed bilateral discussions with Chancellor Scholz, whom I met at G20 last year in his previous capacity as Vice-Chancellor and Finance Minister. We will co-chair the 6th India-Germany Inter-Governmental Consultations (IGC), a unique biennial format which India conducts only with Germany. Several Indian ministers will also travel to Germany and hold consultations with their German counterparts.” He said that he sees the IGC as an early engagement with the new government in Germany to identify their “priorities for the medium and long term”. In 2021, India and Germany commemorated 70 years of diplomatic relations. They have been strategic partners since 2000. “I look forward to exchanging views with Chancellor Scholz on strategic, regional and global developments that concern us both,” Modi said, in an oblique reference to developments in Ukraine, Afghanistan and Indo-Pacific. Underlining that long-standing commercial ties between India and Germany form “one of the pillars of our strategic partnership”, he said the two leaders will address a business roundtable that will "help strengthen the post-Covid economic recovery in both countries”. Continental Europe is home to over 1 million people of Indian origin, and Germany has a significant proportion of this diaspora. “The Indian diaspora is an important anchor in our relations with Europe,” he said, while referring to an Indian community event that he will attend in Germany. From Berlin, Modi will travel to Copenhagen where he will hold a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Frederiksen to “review the progress in our unique ‘Green Strategic Partnership’ with Denmark, as well as other aspects of our bilateral relations”. He will also participate in the India-Denmark Business Roundtable as well as interact with the Indian community in Denmark. The India-Nordic summit, the Prime Minister said, “will focus on subjects like post-pandemic economic recovery, climate change, innovation and technology, renewable energy, the evolving global security scenario and India-Nordic cooperation in the Arctic region”. “On the sidelines of the summit, I will also meet the leaders of the other four Nordic countries and review the progress in India’s bilateral relations with them,” he said. The Nordic countries are important partners for India in sustainability, renewable energy, digitisation and innovation, he said, adding that the “visit will help in expanding our multifaceted cooperation”. “During my return journey, I will stop over in Paris to meet my friend, President Macron. President Macron has very recently been re-elected, and my visit just ten days after the result will not only allow me to convey my personal congratulations in-person, but also reaffirm the close friendship between the two countries. This will also give us the opportunity to set the tone of the next phase of the India-France Strategic Partnership,” Modi said. “President Macron and I will share assessments on various regional and global issues and will take stock of ongoing bilateral cooperation. It is my firm belief that two countries that share such similar vision and values for the global order, must work in close cooperation with each other,” he said. Earlier, while briefing reporters, Kwatra, who assumed office on Sunday, said that "the principal focus of the visits and discussions is to structure and strengthen bilateral partnership across a range of areas and of course, exchange perspectives on the Ukraine issues also”. “The principal objective is to continue to strengthen.multi-dimensional, multi-faceted partnerships with key countries of Europe,” the Foreign Secretary said, adding that the Prime Minister's trip is a “very clear manifestation of our focus”.
