German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Saturday began a two-day visit to India during which he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and held wide-range of talks. In a joint press conference after his meeting with PM Modi at Hyderabad House in New Delhi, Scholz hailed India’s ‘enormous’ growth in the recent years and said it is “very good for the relations between both countries”.
He also said that the world is suffering due to Russian aggression and ensuring food and energy supplies to the countries affected by Moscow’s invasion should be everyone’s priority currently.
“India has undertaken an enormous rise and that is very good for the relations between both countries. The world is suffering because of the consequences of Russia’s aggression. Ensuring food and energy supplies right now,” said the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, as reported by news agency ANI.
Prime Minister Modi also hailed the increasing bond between both the countries and said, “Growing cooperation between 2 largest democratic economies beneficial for people of India, Germany, sends positive message to world.”
Earlier, Modi received Scholz at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, where the German leader was accorded a ceremonial welcome.
It is his first visit to the country after he became the German chancellor in December 2021, following Angela Merkel’s historic 16-year tenure at the top post.
This is the fourth time that the two leaders are meeting in the span of a year.
Last year, Modi and Scholz held bilateral talks in the Indonesian resort city of Bali on November 16 on the sidelines of the G20 summit. The two leaders met for the first time during PM Modi’s visit to Berlin on May 2 last year for the sixth India-Germany Inter-Governmental Consultations (IGC).
It was followed by Modi’s visit to the Alpine castle of Schloss Elmau in southern Germany on June 26 and 27 to attend the annual summit of the G7 grouping. Scholz invited Modi for the G7 summit under the German presidency.