German Chancellor Scholz to arrive in India on Feb 25 on a two-day visit

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will be visiting India on a two-day trip starting from February 25, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Monday in a statement.

Scholz will be accompanied by senior officials and a high-powered business delegation. He will land in New Delhi on February 25 before proceeding to Bengaluru on February 26. He will be accorded a ceremonial welcome at the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhawan.

This is the first standalone visit of a German Chancellor to India since the biennial Inter-Governmental Consultation (IGC) mechanism commenced in 2011, which 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 Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chancellor Scholz, the statement from the ministry said.

During his visit, Prime Minister and Chancellor will hold discussions on bilateral, regional and global issues. The two Leaders will also interact with CEOs and business leaders of both sides. Scholz will also call on President Draupadi Murmu, added the release. The India-Germany Strategic Partnership is underpinned by shared values, trust and mutual understanding. Robust investment and trade linkages, cooperation in green and sustainable development and growing people-to-people ties have strengthened bilateral relations, it said.

India and Germany also work closely at multilateral and international platforms, notably as part of the G4 for UNSC reforms.

Chancellor Scholz's visit will enable both sides to take stock and progress on the key outcomes of the 6th IGC, strengthen security and defence cooperation, work towards closer economic ties, enhance opportunity for mobility of talent and give strategic guidance to ongoing collaboration in Science & Technology, added the release.

A few days ago, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had quoted External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar's viral remark on the "European mindset" which has been included in Munich Security Report 2023.

Speaking at the 17th edition of the GLOBSEC Bratislava Forum in Slovakia last year, Jaishankar had said that Europe has to grow out of the mindset that its problems are the world's problems but the world's problems are not Europe's problems.

Scholz echoed Jaishankar's views and said "Europe has to get out of the mindset that Europe's problems are the world's problems, but the world's problems are not Europe's problems - this quote from the Indian Foreign Minister is included in this year's Munich Security Report and he has a point. It wouldn't be Europe's problem alone if the law of the strong were to assert itself in international relations."