Merkel, Modi Agree to Bolster Bilateral Trade, Strategic Ties

(Bloomberg) --

Germany and India agreed to work jointly on projects in artificial intelligence, environmental technologies and urban transport, during Chancellor Angela Merkel’s visit to the South Asian nation.

The two countries signed an agreement on green urban mobility and vowed to strengthen trade, economic and strategic ties following talks between Merkel and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Friday.

India has invited German companies to invest in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh and in southern Tamil Nadu where it is setting up two defense industrial corridors, Modi said at a joint press conference. Merkel called for cooperation with India in 5G telecommunications technology and artificial intelligence.

Modi is spearheading a plan to boost manufacturing and has taken a series of steps recently, including easier foreign investment rules for companies from Apple Inc. to Huawei Technologies Co. in a bid to revive India’s economic growth. His administration cut corporate taxes to rival some of the lowest in Asia, helping India compete with the likes of Vietnam and Indonesia to attract investments.

During her three day visit, Merkel is scheduled to visit a German-Indian automotive components manufacturer on the outskirts of the city apart from visiting a metro train station that uses coaches manufactured by Berlin-headquartered Bombardier Transportation. The talks are the fifth in a series of biennial bilateral summits between Germany and India.

Germany is the seventh-largest foreign direct investor in India, which received investments worth $11.8 billion from April 2000 until June 2019.

--With assistance from Arne Delfs and Archana Chaudhary.

To contact the reporter on this story: Bibhudatta Pradhan in New Delhi at bpradhan@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Ruth Pollard at rpollard2@bloomberg.net, Muneeza Naqvi, Unni Krishnan

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