Trade links on the rise,German President coming on first state visit

As Iindia and Germany look to strengthen ties on issues ranging from counter-terrorism to climate change in the backdrop of an increasing bilateral trade....

As Iindia and Germany look to strengthen ties on issues ranging from counter-terrorism to climate change in the backdrop of an increasing bilateral trade,Germanys Federal President Horst Kohler will be coming to India in February first week on his first state visit to India.

Former managing director of the International Monetary Fund,Kohler has been the Federal President since 2004.

During his visit from February 1 to 7,Kohler will be meeting his counterpart President Pratibha Patil,Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other top leaders of the country.

An economist by training,Kohler will also be meeting his friend and colleague from his days at the IMF,Montek Singh Ahluwalia,the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission.

After completing the New Delhi leg of his trip,Kohler will go to Pune,which has a lot of German automobile units, and visit the Volkswagen car factory.

He will also be going to Mumbai and meeting top RBI officials and Indian industrialists. His itinerary includes a visit to a Jewish synagogue to pay homage.

The economic crisis is likely to figure in the talks India has with Kohler,particularly given his economic background. With Germany seeking a larger role commensurate with its position as the third largest economy in the world,Indias rapid growth has been of interest to the country and there is recognition of the long-term potential of Indo-German economic and trade relations.

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Bilateral trade between the two countries has been growing and,besides,Germany is the second-largest source of technical and financial collaboration globally for Indian companies after the US. There are around 2,672 Indo-German collaboration agreements and two big-ticket recent investments have been Suzlons acquisition of Wind Energy Company Repower estimated investment Euro 1.35 billion and Dr Reddys acquisition of generic drug manufacturer Betapharm one of Germanys top five generic drug manufacturers.