NEW DELHI: India and Russia have signed Saint Petersburg Declaration as a roadmap to enhance cooperation after 18th annual bilateral summit. Both countries also released their vision for bilateral partnership in the 21st century on Thursday.  
According to a joint statement, issued during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Russia, both the countries will cooperate in all possible areas, including defence, counter-terror, intelligence sharing, connectivity initiatives trade and nuclear energy. 
It said that the leaders of both countries, in the year that marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations note that the Indian-Russian special is a unique relationship of mutual trust between two great powers. They called for early conclusion of negotiations on comprehensive convention on international terrorism.
New Delhi and Moscow also condemned terrorism in all forms. Both countries agreed for setting up of two units of Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant in third stage. Both nations have also agreed to co-operate on free Trade Area negotiations with Eurasian Economic Union.
Mr. Modi’s visit also marked signing of 12 agreements including the Saint Petersburg Declaration. Talking to CEO’s, Mr Modi invited Russian Business leaders to invest in india.
Prime Minister Modi has expressed happiness on the signing of St. Petersburg declaration. In a press meet at the Consantine Palace after meeting the CEOs, both the leaders had agreed to interact closely on various fields including economy, manufacturing, energy to name a few. Mr Modi said that India’s relations with Russia are special and proven to be as strong as ever standing shoulder to shoulder on issues whether it was terrorism or co-strategic interest. 
Expressing happiness at the Indo-Russian summit, Mr.Modi told that the relationship has grown extensively. He said that energy cooperation is a major area of the ties including cooperation in renewable energy and nuclear power. 
Prime Minister told that the units of Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant 5 and 6 which was signed will improve the power situation in the country.Russian President Vladimir Putin told that India and Russia are ideal partners providing support to each other in strategic as well as economic and social matters. He said that 19 projects on pharmaceuticals, aircraft, car manufacturing, gems and diamonds and agriculture were on the pipeline.
Today, the Prime Minister looked forward to be a guest of honour for the first time in St Petersburg International Economic Forum.

Audience at the Jawahar Kala Kendra at Jaipur was enthralled by a Japanese Shinto theatrical dance performance organized to mark 60 years of Japan India cultural relations. Organised by the Japan Foundation, New Delhi in collaboration with Jawahar Kala Kendra, performance was presented by the ‘Magisawa Kagura Group.’ Started in 1912, Magisawa Kagura is a folk performing art which held its first performance for a shrine in Magisawa district. The performance was by a group of 8 people. The performance is essentially a musical theatre for Shinto gods with toned narration and dance accompanied by big gongs, flutes and drums. The performers narrate mythological stories and folk tales through their dance.   The artistes in Jaipur presented two dance performances – Tori Mai and Sanbaso. While the former was a dance of fowls, the latter was a dance form that essentially wishes for plentiful production of grain. Sanbaso is worshipped as the God of harvest in this performance. The artistes in this performance were Shigeyuki Abe, Seiki Yoshida, Jun Iwabuchi, Hiroki Abe and Shinya Iwabuchi. 

NEW DELHI: Despite the achievements in indigenous shipbuilding, the Navy continues to be dependent on external assistance for niche technologies,  Indian Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba said here on Wednesday. 
“An important aspect in attaining 100% self-reliance in ship design and construction, therefore, is the indigenous development of high end technologies, their transition into shipborne equipment and systems, induction into Service and standardization. Self-reliance in defence production, which is a vital pre-requisite for achieving greater strategic autonomy, is no easy task and would require dedicated efforts by researchers, designers and manufacturers,” Admiral Lanba said. 
He was addressing a two-day international seminar with the theme ‘Building India’s Future Navy: Technology Imperatives’, organised by FICCI and being attended by the top brass of the Indian Navy, Indian Coast Guard, Integrated Defence Staff, Ministry of Defence, DRDO, industry leaders from India and abroad, academia and thinkers. The seminar provided a platform for an exchange of ideas on realising the indigenous development cycle for cutting edge technologies that would be vital to building India’s future navy towards meeting the Government’s vision of ‘Make in India’. Admiral Lanba who is also the Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee stated that the Indian Navy has taken giant strides in the field of indigenous ship design and construction to transition from a ‘Buyer’s’ Navy to a ‘Builder’s’ Navy. 
The Naval Chief said the Indian Navy has taken the first step in this direction by formally articulating its indigenisation plans and need for the development of state-of-the-art systems and equipment through various policy and vision documents. This, along with initiatives like ‘Make in India’, would go a long way in building sustainable models for development of platforms and equipment requiring niche technologies. Admiral Lanba highlighted the three primary requirements that need to be met while inducting a technology or a product – affordability, timely delivery and performance. To these primary imperatives, the Navy Chief went on to add a fourth dimension – that of life cycle sustenance by providing seamless technical support and making the technology future proof. He stated that this aspect is most vital for building a navy of the future and the support of the industry therefore extends well beyond just supply to lifecycle product support. On the occasion, Admiral Lanba released two publications pertaining to compilation of papers authored by Naval officers on future technologies and a knowledge paper authored by FICCI. The Navy Chief also launched a web portal on Defence and Aerospace, developed by FICCI. The Seminar is structured around dedicated sessions to deliberate on Indigenously Designed Developed and Manufactured (IDDM) – Projects for the Indian Industry; Modern Trends in Maritime Communications; Cyberspace Operations and Information Warfare; Shipborne Propulsion and Power Generation; Missiles, Underwater and Directed Energy Weapons; Opportunities for Coastal States; Surveillance and Detection Systems; Transformation in the Aviation Sector; Autonomous Vehicles; Disruptive Technologies; Warship Building in India and Building India’s Future Navy: Realizing the ‘Make in India’ Initiative. Also speaking on the occasion, Ms. Naina Lal Kidwai, Past President, FICCI and Chairperson, Max Financial Services Ltd, said that the Seminar would provide a platform to the industry captains to understand and deliberate on the technology imperatives for a future ready naval force. She asked the industry to articulate their vision on how they could partner the Indian Navy and the other Defence Forces in achieving the stated goal of self-reliance through indigenisation.

New Delhi, May 30 (IANS) The government has ruled out talks with separatists in Kashmir and insists that the problem of violence is limited to just five districts of south Kashmir while the rest of the state is “in peace”.
The government is ready for talks on “development” with all other stakeholders, says Union Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu, who questioned the demand for a Ramzan ceasefire.
In an interview with IANS, the Information and Broadcasting Minister said the state and central governments were making “best efforts to deal with the situation” in the Kashmir Valley which has been on the boil since the April 9 Srinagar Lok Sabha polls when eight civilian protesters were killed in firing by security forces guarding voting stations.
“We are determined to solve the problem” in Kashmir that “we inherited from previous Congress governments”, said the former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief.
He rejected allegations that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-BJP coalition government led by Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti had failed to bring normalcy and contain surging violence in the state since the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani on July 8 last year. 
The militant leader’s death triggered a deadly wave of street violence that left 100 people dead in about five months of unrest last year. The year 2017 also began on a stormy note in the Valley with intermittent bouts of stone-pelting protests.
However, Naidu told IANS that the situation in the Kashmir Valley was still “better as compared with earlier UPA governments”.
“Kashmir, which is not our creation, is a 69-year-old problem. Where is the question of failing? It is all legacy of great Congress leaders.”
He said the trouble in the state was not as widespread as it was made out to be in the media.
“Other than five districts, remaining parts of the state are free from violence. Let us understand this. Except for south Kashmir, the state is in peace. In north Kashmir there is no major problem. In Jammu region, there is no major problem. In Ladakh region, there is no problem.
“Kashmir is not four south Kashmir districts. There is a problem. We have to (solve it). But at the same time, we have to send a message across the border that we will not accept terrorism.”
Asked about a possibility of a ceasefire during the current month of Ramzan that culminates in Eid celebration, the Minister said it was for the Home Minister to look into the demand. But he questioned the very demand itself.
“Ceasefire by whom? Won’t there be any stone-pelting? There will not be any terrorist activity? Will somebody give us an assurance? Suppose people were observing Ramzan and then there is some attack, who has to be responsible.”
Asked about talks with separatist groups in the valley, Naidu said all previous efforts of dialogue to solve the Kashmir issue have failed.
“How many years have we been talking? It has become a fashion for some people to make such demands and then be in news. Otherwise what is there in talks? Anybody who swears loyalty to India’s integrity. Yes, we should talk to them irrespective of which party they represent.” 
Asked if he was clearly ruling out talks with the separatist amalgam Hurriyat Conference, the Minister said: “All I am saying is there is no question of disintegration of Kashmir. There is no question on the integrity of the country. 
“There are issues of development, lack of development in a particular region. There is no question of giving one inch of land to anybody. Development, we can talk with all. Why are we mentioning separatist? We are willing to talk with all Kashmiri people who are part of India.”
About the differences in the coalition government with the PDP led by Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti demanding talks with Hurriyat leaders, Naidu said it was because “we are different parties”.
“It is the PDP which is saying that. Not the government. It may be their view, not our view. The point is, first restore normalcy. Allow the public life to move on.” 
He said the PDP-BJP have a “political understanding (and) are making an effort to see that we work through the elected government”. 
(V.S. Chandrasekar and Sarwar Kashani can be contacted at chandru.v@ians.in and sarwar.k@ians.in) 

BERLIN: Hailing Germany as among India’s most important partners bilaterally and globally, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said that his government is on the path of making India a global manufacturing hub and a good eco-system already existed in India for manufacturing.

In a hard sell of India’s growth story in Europe’s biggest economy, Mr. Modi said that Germany ranked 7^th among foreign investor countries in India. Major sectors attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows from Germany are engineering, chemicals and services.  “About 600 Indo-German joint ventures are presently operating in India. They provide employment to around 200,000 people. However, there is tremendous further potential in India-Germany economic collaboration. Our economic partnership is still below its full potential.’’

Addressing Indo-German Business Council in Berlin, Mr. Modi said that India is ready with open arms to welcome German companies. “With a view to help the German companies, we have put in place a Fast Track Mechanism. A number of issues have already been resolved through this mechanism. We are doing it sincerely because we value German participation a lot,’’ he told top business leaders of Germany.

The Prime Minister, on his second visit to Germany in three years, stressed on India’s strengths. He said that India already offers a  globally cost competitive manufacturing eco-system; a vast pool of skilled professionals with knowledge and energy; world class engineering education base and strong R&D facilities; rise in GDP and purchasing power creating further growth in the domestic market; one of the most liberal FDI Policy regimes in the world;  Government’s focus on easing the business environment further.

“Due to these strengths, as said by UNIDO, India is already the 6th largest manufacturing nation in the world. To make it better, we are working hard on various enablers,’’ he said.

Showcasing his pet ‘Make in India’ initiative, Mr. Modi said that his government was committed to transform India as a major player in the global value chain. “Prime motive is creation of jobs and narrowing the gap between affluent and lower sections of society. Make in India has already created a strong impact,’’ he said.  

He said that Germany is already contributing in a big way in the success of Make in India. Key areas for Indo-German collaboration include manufacturing, skill development, railways, cleaning of rivers, renewable energy, education, science and technology.

“In addition, we are also implementing a strategic market entry support Programme, since September 2015. It is called MIIM (Make in India Mittelstand). This is mainly to assist German Mittelstand Companies in entering the Indian Market,’’ Mr. Modi told business leaders.

Talking about global recognition to India’s efforts, Mr. Modi made several forceful points. India remains a bright spot in the subdued economic landscape across the world; India has emerged as the fastest growing major economy the last three years with GDP growth rate of over 7%;  India has moved up 32 places in last two years in the Global Competitiveness Index of the World Economic Forum- highest for any country;  India also moved up 19 places on the Logistics Performance Index of 2016 of World Bank; India is  3rd among the top 10 FDI destinations listed by UNCTAD;

Citing examples of reducing Government and enhancing Governance, Mr. Modi said that India is moving fast towards becoming a Digital Economy; GST is among the most historic reforms India has ever done- and it is going to be implemented from the next month; in the last two years, India has moved towards a low tax regime both on personal as well as corporate side; India has lowered the corporate tax from 30% to 25 % particularly for new investments and smaller ventures;  new laws and institutions for Bankruptcy and Insolvency as well as IPR and Arbitration are now in place; more than 7,000 reforms have been implemented on the front of Ease of doing business; 36 white industries have been taken out from the requirement of environmental clearance; more than 50 items have been taken out of defence list;  validity period of industrial licenses has been increased upto 15 years;  custom clearance has been made 24X7 at 19 ports and 17 air cargo complexes;  incorporating a company along with allotment of DIN, PAN, TAN and the CIN is now just one day affair; power connection is provided within a time frame of 15 days;  and India’s ranking is now up by 111 places on ‘Getting Electricity’ parameter of World Bank.

He said that several States in India have also cleared reforms which include  100% implementation of single window system for payments & approvals in 16 states; 100% implementation of e-filing of tax returns in 13 states; automated online building plan approval in 13 states and E-filing system for commercial disputes have been implemented in 11 states.

“India has one of the most liberal FDI Policy regimes in the world. More than 90% of the foreign investment flows are under automatic route. Last week we formally decided to abolish the Foreign Investment Promotion Board which was made in 1990s to examine the FDI proposals. The idea is to expand the engagement of overseas investors in the Indian economy. Due to this approach, Our FDI Outlook has been ranked highly positive by various International Agencies,’’ the Prime Minister said.

He said there has also been tremendous growth in the FDI inflows in the last three  years and has now reached to 60 billion US Dollars in 2016-17.

“India is a big country. Hence, nothing is enough when it comes to development. We have many dreams. And the dreams are big. But we have small timelines. And this is your opportunity. These opportunities range from building millions of houses to setting up hundreds of smart cities; modernization of railway networks and stations to setting up of high speed rail corridors; generation of renewable energy to construction of transmission and distribution networks. In addition, there is an ever growing need for National Highways, Bridges, and Mass Urban Transport systems, schools, hospitals and skill training institutes,’’ Mr. Modi told the business leaders.

“Our direction, desire and dreams create tremendous business opportunity. Never before, India was so much ready for business. We are on a take off stage. Moreover, our democratic values and an alert judicial system will ensure the safety of your investments,’’ he said. 

NEW DELHI: Is the time for state-owned Air India running out? The Maharaja is bleeding and its status in the intensive care unit certainly does not look very promising. Perhaps, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, a powerful and authoritative voice of the NDA government and the most reliable Cabinet colleague of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has let the cat out of the bag by strongly favouring disinvestment of the Air India. 
Mr. Jaitley has been quoted as saying that the market share of Air India is just around 14 percent whereas the debt burden is a whopping Rs. 50,000 crore. Speaking at Dialogue@DD News programme, Mr. Jaitley said that Air India was flying at the cost of tax payers’money and that money could have been used in key sectors like education and health. “In this country, if 87 or 86 percent flying can be handled by the private sector… then they can also do 100 percent,” he said. 
Recalling that he had rooted for disinvestment of Air India during the earlier NDA regime in 1999-2000, Mr. Jaitley said that he had argued at that time if the disinvestment was not done, nothing would be left to disinvest. Since then, the government has pumped in more money into the loss-making national flag carrier but returns are dismal. 
The bailout package was given to Air India by the then Manmohan Singh government which was to the tune of Rs. 30,000 crores and spread over 10 years. 
In 2015-16, Air India showed operational profit of Rs 105 crore mainly due to low fuel prices and some rise in its passenger numbers as after the 2007 merger with Indian Airlines, there was only single state-owned entity — Air India  both domestically and internationally. 
Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju last week said Air Indias books were  “bad”, but added that the government wanted the carrier to survive. 
A Parliamentary Committee on Transport, headed by CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury, had termed the Air India-Indian Airlines merger as a “hasty” one which had been done without appling any mind. The then Civil Aviation Minister and NCP leader Praful Patel had described the merger as “absolutely” perfect which would take care of growing civil aviation market. The merger had been vetted by an Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM). 
Another blow to Air India came when the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered three cases into alleged irregularities in the purchase of 111 aircraft worth Rs. 70,000 crores, leasing of planes and surrender of profit-making routes. The agency would also inquire into the Air India-Indian Airlines merger during the UPA regime which allegedly caused losses running into thousands of crores. 
Civil aviation analysts  have often blamed poor management skills, serving VIPs by the national carrier as well as social and national obligations in the  times of natural calamities, participation in evacuation programmes as being some of the areas not served by the private airlines. After the merger, Indian Airlines, one of the most cherished Indian brands in the national and international skies, ceased to exist and the Maharaja’s glory seems to be fading with the passing of each year. It is time, the Modi government took a bold decision to let go of Air India into private hands so that a lean and mean entity can serve the country and the travelling public and in the process can sustain itself economically. 

New Delhi : Welcoming the diverse assessments of three years of his government, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday underlined the significance of constructive criticism in strengthening democracy and assured the people that mistakes and shortcomings would be rectified.

Delivering his first “Mann Ki Baat” after completion of three years in office on Friday, Modi also took on the critics of his monthly radio address, which he said enabled him to become a member of every family in India. 

“Audit and assessment of the performance of the present government in the last three years is happening all over on newspapers, social media or TV for the last 15 days. There have been many surveys and several opinion polls. I see this entire process as a very healthy sign,” Modi said. 

“Constructive criticism strengthens democracy, for an aware nation, an awakened nation, this churning is very important,” he said, referring to the surveys which highlight both praise and criticism of his government’s record so far.

He said the work done by his government was tested on every touchstone and analysed by every segment of society. 

“This is a great process in democracy. I firmly believe that governments must be accountable in democracy and the public at large must be provided with report card of works done,” he said, expressing gratitude for the critical and important feedback. 

“The mistakes and the shortcomings once highlighted can be rectified. Whether something is good, little less effective, or bad, whatever it is, one has to learn from it and move ahead in life, putting the learning from it into practice.” 

“Some people take ‘Mann Ki Baat’ as a monologue and some criticise it from a political angle,” he said admitting that he never thought that programme launched two years ago would make him a member of every Indian family. 

“Now I feel as if I’m conversing with my family while sitting at home,” said Modi, describing himself as “ordinary citizen” who, like all, is “influenced by good or bad things”.

He said the release of the book “Mann Ki Baat: A Social Revolution on Radio” by Presidnet Pranab Mukherjee on Friday, was an inspirational event for him. 

The book is a compilation by Rajesh Jain of Modi’s monthly radio addresses. He also expressed his gratitude for UAE-based Indian artist Akbar Saheb who has done the illustrations in the book without taking money. 

Pitching for World Yoga Day (June 21), Modi appealed to families to post pictures of their three generations performing the exercises together on ‘Narendra Modi App’ or ‘MyGov’, to give a new dimension to event which, he said, has attracted global attention in very short span of time. 

“Much like it connects body, mind, heart and soul, yoga is now connecting the world. When disruptive forces are tearing the world apart, yoga has come as greet gift form India, uniting the world,” he said. 

Modi also promised daily postings about yoga on Twitter till the eve of the Yoga Day and urged the people to contribute towards promoting the “movement on preventive health care”.

Focusing on the upcoming World Environment Day, he announced launch of a “massive movement” for waste collection across 4,000 cities of the country from June 5, under which separate bins — green for liquid waste and blue for dry waste — will be installed in these cities to develop a culture of segregating the two waste types. 

“We must not treat garbage as waste, it is wealth, a resource,” he said, stressing the importance of waste management. 

Modi also greeted the nation on beginning of the holy month of Ramadan, when Muslims keep a dawn-to-dusk fast.

Ramadan, the ninth month in the Islamic calendar, ends with Eid ul-Fitr, and depending on the lunar calendar that Muslims follow it lasts either 29 or 30 days, with sighting of the new moon as the indicator.

Citing the the security threat India faced in the region, Defence Minister Arun Jaitley on Sunday called for optimal defence preparedness to safeguard the country.

“Our defence preparedness should always be at optimal level to safeguard the country, which is geographically located in a region that is not free from trouble,” said Jaitley as he unveiled the India’s first Aeronautical Test Range (ATR) for testing drones and other weapons in Karnataka’s Chitradurga district.

Noting that India had a hostile neighbour perpetuating a security threat for nearly seven decades, he called upon for greater indigenisation of defence equipment to ensure that preparedness remained at the highest level.

Admitting that India continued to spend more on importing arms, he wondered why the best minds produced here should not make the country self-reliant in defence equipment.

“A large part of the defence budget allocation is spent on procuring arms from outside than making them in the country where the best minds dominate the technology elsewhere in the world,” he said.

“As the ATR and allied facilities help in many areas of national security, the government has been in favour of a policy for creating optimal facilities within the country,” he reiterated.

The Rs 1,300 crore, 4,090 acre dedicated ATR facility will also be used to test and evaluate aeronautical systems as well as air-to-ground weapons and other equipment.

It also has 2.2 km runway along with taxiways in conformity with the International Civil Aviation Organisation standard.

“The ATR houses the air traffic display system with remote control of radar operations, an Air Traffic Control radio frequency voice communication system and a range operational communication system,” said a DRDO official at the event.

When fully operational in the near future, the range will be used for testing and evaluating projects of the Defence Research and Development Organisation and its units such as the Centre for Air Borne Systems, the Gas Turbine Research Establishment, the Defence Avionics Research Establishment and the Centre for Military Airworthiness & Certification.

Srinagar : Curfew and restrictions continued in Srinagar and other places in the Kashmir Valley on Monday as authorities said “these were necessary to maintain law and order”.

“Curfew will continue in seven police station areas of Khanyar, Rainawari, Nowhatta, M.R. Gunj, Safa Kadal, Kralkhud and Maisuma”, Farooq Ahmad Lone, District Magistrate Srinagar said.

Syed Abid Rashid, District Magistrate, Anantnag also imposed restrictions in Anantnag town to maintain calm.

Similar preventive restrictions have been imposed in Shopian, Kulgam, Pulwama, Badgam, Ganderbal, Bandipora, Kupwara and Baramulla districts.

The Kashmir Valley has been on the edge since Saturday when Hizbul commander, Sabzar Bhat was killed in a gunfight with the security forces in Saimoh village of Pulwama district along with his associate, Faizan Ahmad.

Both belonged to Rathsuna village of Tral tehsil where they were buried in the village martyrs graveyard as hundreds attended their burial.

Authorities had imposed curfew and restrictions on Sunday to prevent violence in the aftermath of Hizbul commander’s death.

Separatists have asked people to observe a protest shutdown on Monday and appealed them to March to Tral town on Tuesday.

Senior separatist leaders including Syed Ali Geelani and Mirwaiz Umer Farooq have been placed under house arrest while JKLF chief, Muhammad Yasin Malik was arrested and shifted to the central jail on Sunday.

All educational institutions have been shut by the authorities in addition to postponement of exams scheduled on Monday by the university.

Train services also remained suspended on Monday for the second consecutive day.

Police said except for six stone pelting incidents on Sunday those were handled with maximum restraint by the security forces, the valley remained peaceful.

High tension and uneasy calm has started affecting the tourist inflow into the Kashmir Valley.

Many hoteliers and others directly associated with the tourism industry are expressing fears of losing their livelihood if things do not return to normal quickly.

Kashmir had a devastating tourist season last year in the aftermath of the then Hizbul commander, Burhan Wani’s killing on July 8.

The unrest that followed Wani’s killing lasted nearly six months during which 94 civilians were killed and hundreds other injured.

BERLIN: Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived at his first stop here of his four nation Europe visit after leaving New Delhi on Monday morning..  
Prime Minister Modi, on his second visit to Germany, will hold extensive talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel at her official Meseberg Country Retreat where the two leaders would discuss the entire gamut of key issues, including trade and commerce, investment and counter-terrorism. 
Both Mr. Modi and Chancellor Merkel will interact with top business leaders of both the countries to further strengthen trade and investment ties. The Fourth India-Germany Intergovernmental Consultations to boost bi-lateral ties is likely to top the agenda.
In a pre-departure statement on Facebook, Mr. Modi laid out the grounds for these consultations. “India and Germany are large democracies, major economies and important players in regional and global affairs. Their strategic partnership is based on democratic values and commitment to an open, inclusive and rules-based global order. Germany is a valuable partner in our development initiatives and German competencies fit well the vision for India’s transformation.”
Germany is India’s leading partner in trade, technology and investment. This visit is expected to open a new chapter in India’s bilateral cooperation with Germany and further deepen the Strategic Partnership. 
The two nations will also chart out a future roadmap of cooperation with focus on trade and investment, 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.
Currently, there are 1600 German companies active in India, and nearly 600 joint ventures with Indian companies. In manufacturing, Germany can play an important role in PM’s initiative Make in India and Skill India. 
India and Germany share common concerns on some international issues like the expansion of UN Security Council and terrorism. 
In a series of messages on social media platform before embarking on the four-nation visit,  the Prime Minister hoped that this visit will open a new chapter in bilateral relations with Germany and further deepen strategic partnership.
Mr Modi said, India will seek active participation of Spanish industry in various Indian projects including infrastructure, smart cities, digital economy, renewable energy, defence and tourism. Mr. Modi also expressed his commitment to strengthening and advancing India’s multi faceted partnership with France which is India’s 9th largest investment partner.
The Prime Minister further said, he is looking forward to visit St.Petersburg in this special year as India and Russia celebrate the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations. 
Indian Ambassador to Germany Muktha Dutta Tomar has said that Germany is a valued partner for India and Prime Minister’s visit will reiterate the strength and the valued relationship of both the countries further. In an interview to All India Radio, the Ambassador said that the Intergovernmental consultation will provide a road-map of Indo-German collaboration in trade, investment, science and technology, skill development, security and counter terrorism co-operation. 
She said that Germany was among the top ten countries investing in India. India has lent support to 74 small and medium enterprises planning to invest 650 million Euros in the country.
From Germany, Mr. Modi will head to Spain, Russia and then France.