Angela Merkel receives Jawaharlal Nehru Award

German Chancellor Angela Merkel receives the Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding for the year 2009 from Indian President Pratibha Patil at the Presidential Palace in New Delhi on Tuesday.Merkel and India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday reviewed regional security and pledged to work together against terrorism and promote stability in South Asia.Merkel is accompanied by seven German ministers for the first high-level consultations on Tuesday with Singh and other Indian officials.

India and Germany are set to take their bilateral trade to 20 billion euros in a year, as the two countries step up economic and technological cooperation."It (Germany) is amongst the largest foreign investors in India. Our bilateral trade was more than 15 billion euros last year, and is on course to reach the target of 20 billion euros per year by 2012," Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said after meeting German Chancellor Angela Merkel today.

Singh said India wants greater German investment in infrastructure, high technology, energy and basic and applied sciences.India offers a stable and friendly investment climate and a large growing market. I welcome the progress that is being made on the issue of high technology exports from Germany to India. This will benefit both economies, the Prime Minister said.

CEOs of top German companies, accompanying Merkel called on Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma after round-table with their Indian counterparts.

"Germany is our strategic partner. The German investments in India are moving close to USD 10 billion.. that makes Germany one of our major partners," Sharma said.
CEOs and senior officials of 20 German companies attended the meeting with Sharma.
They included Siemens CEO Peter Loescher and BASF CEO Kurt Bock.
Earlier they met their Indian counterparts under the aegis of CII and Ficci.
In the CEOs' roundtable, CII President and Tata Steel Vice Chairman B Muthuraman said more and more Indian firms are acquiring high-quality German technology to meet their growing needs.