German chancellor Angela Merkel’s India visit: Arrives in military cargo plane

New Delhi, Oct 6: German chancellor Angela Merkel who is currently visiting India was forced to use a military cargo plane after her official plane broke down.

She used the "Kurt Schumacher," a relatively modest Airbus A310 used by the German military to reach Delhi. The military cargo plane lacks the comforts of her official plane.

Merkel arrived here on a three-day visit for the third Inter Governmental Consultations (IGC) to push economic and strategic partnership.

Her visit to India is aimed at boosting bilateral trade for defense, technology and automobiles, reported Economic Times.

"Konrad Adenauer," the German chancellor's specially equipped Airbus A340 named after Germany's first post-war chancellor, was grounded at Berlin on Sunday following unspecified technical faults shortly before takeoff.

India and Germany have a 'Strategic Partnership' since 2001 and Germany is India's largest trading partner in Europe. Bilateral trade during 2014 was valued at 16 billion euro ($17.9 billion dollars), well below the 20-billion-euro target within a year set by Merkel on her previous visit in 2011.

OneIndia News