PM embarks on 4-nation tour

Team Udayavani, May 29, 2017, 12:30 PM IST

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today embarked on a four-nation tour of Germany, Spain, Russia and France with the aim of boosting India’s economic engagement with these nations and inviting more investment.

Modi will first visit Germany, where he will hold talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel under the framework of India- Germany Intergovernmental Consultations (IGC).

He will also call on German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

He will discuss with Merkel areas of cooperation in trade, security and counter-terrorism, innovation and science and technology, skill development, urban infrastructure, railways and civil aviation, clean energy, development cooperation, health and alternative medicine.”

In Berlin, Modi and Merkel will also interact with top business leaders of both the countries to further strengthen trade and investment ties.

On Tuesday, Modi will travel to Spain for an official visit, the first by an Indian prime minister in almost three decades.

He will call on King Felipe VI and hold talks with President Mariano Rajoy.

Modi will discuss ways to enhance bilateral engagement, especially in the economic sphere, and cooperation on international issues of common concern, particularly in combating terrorism.

He will also meet top CEOs of the Spanish industry and encourage them to partner in the ‘Make in India’ initiative.

From Spain, the prime minister will travel to St. Petersburg in Russia from May 31 to June 2 for the 18th India-Russia Annual Summit.

The two leaders will also be interacting with CEOs from the two countries.

On June 2, Modi and Putin will address the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) where India is the ‘guest country’.

At the beginning of his visit, he will go to Piskarovskoye Cemetery to pay homage to those who perished during the siege of Leningrad.

He will also visit the world famous State Hermitage Museum and the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts.

In the last leg of the tour, he will visit France from June 2 to 3 for an official meeting with the newly-elected French President Emmanuel Macron.

France is India’s 9th largest investment partner and a key partner in its development initiatives in the area of defence, space, nuclear and renewable energy, urban development and railways.