New Delhi: With German Chancellor Olaf Scholz set to visit India later this week, former diplomat G Parthasarathy on Monday said the visit signifies the continuation of India-Germany friendship. Scholz will pay a state visit to India on February 25-26. He will be accompanied by senior officials and a high-powered business delegation. The German Chancellor will arrive in New Delhi on February 25 and proceed to Bengaluru a day later.
Speaking to ETV Bharat, Parthasarathy said Germany has been a friend to India and provides the largest bilateral economic assistance than any European power does on favourable terms. "Yes we have differences on Ukraine but Germany has not made an issue of it. Even in the days of the Bangladesh conflict, they backed us. It goes back a long time and it is cut across the party lines in Germany. Germany has been consistent in providing economic assistance and never politicized it. Germany has been a good friend and it's bipartisan," Parthasarathy said.
This is Scholz’s first visit to India in his current role as Chancellor. It is also the first standalone visit of a German Chancellor to India since the biennial Inter-Governmental Consultation (IGC) mechanism commenced in 2011. The IGC, according to an MEA statement, "is a whole-of-government framework under which Ministers from both countries hold discussions in their respective areas of responsibility and report on the outcome of discussions to the Prime Minister and Chancellor."
During his visit, Chancellor Scholz will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and discuss bilateral, regional, and global issues. The two will also interact with CEOs and business leaders of both sides. Scholz will also call on the President Droupadi Murmu.
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