German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will visit India on February 25-26 accompanied by senior officials and a high-powered business delegation, according to the Ministry of External Affairs.
“He (Olaf) is scheduled to arrive in New Delhi on February 25 and will proceed to Bengaluru on February 26,” an MEA release issued on Monday said.
“Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) 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,” per the statement.
Scholz’s visit will enable both sides to take stock and progress on the key outcomes of the 6th Inter-Governmental Consultation (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, it added.
This will be Chancellor Scholz’s first visit to India in his current role and the first standalone visit of a German Chancellor to India since the biennial IGC mechanism commenced in 2011.
The IGC 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.
Modi and Scholz are also expected to discuss the future handling of the on-going crisis in Ukraine as Russia’s war on the country completes one year this week, sources said.
Germany has been a leading supplier of equipment and weapons to Ukraine in the on-going war and has significantly reduced its dependence on Russian energy. India, on the other hand, has denounced the war without taking sides and has increased its purchases of discounted oil from Russia since the war began.
Scholz will also call on the President Droupadi Murmu and will be accorded a ceremonial welcome at the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhawan.