German Chancellor Angela Merkel visited to India

German Chancellor Angela Merkel visited India between 4 October and 6 October 2015. On her arrival, she was received at the airport by the Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha.

Prime Minister Modi and Chancellor Merkel held discussions on a wide range of issues of mutual interest, including deepening bilateral engagement in defence, security, education, renewable energy, skill development and agriculture.

Important events held during Merkel’s stay in India are
• Indo-German Summit 2015 was held in Bengaluru on 6 October 2015.
• Indo-German Joint Statement on Climate Change and Energy Technology Cooperation was released on 5 October 2015.
• 3rd Indo German Inter-Governmental Consultations take place in New Delhi and a Joint Statement on the IGC was also released on 5 October 2015. IGC is a unique Summit-level dialogue with Cabinet participation of both governments that helps advance bilateral partnership across areas of mutual interest.
• Eighteen MoUs/Agreements were inked between the two countries.
• Prime Minister and Chancellor Angela Merkel visited of German automotive major Bosch Engineering and Innovation Centre in Bengaluru.
• The two countries signed deals worth 2.25 billion dollars (around 14600 crore rupees) on German investment in developing India's clean energy corridors and solar energy industry, ahead of the crucial UN climate change talks to be held in Paris in December 2015.

Apart from this, during this visit of Merkel to India, Germany returned a 10th century Durga idol which had gone missing from a temple in Kashmir over two decades back to India. Mahishasuramardini avatar that was stolen from a temple at Pulwama in Kashmir in the 1990s was handed over by Merkel to Modi after their talks in New Delhi.

In 2012, Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) received a tip-off that the idol was spotted at the Linden Museum, Stuttgart.

India and Germany are strategic partners since 2001. Germany is India’s largest trading partner in the European Union and the seventh largest foreign investor in India.

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