: Economic ties are
at the top of Prime Minister
Narendra Modi’s agenda as
he begins a nine-day, threenation
tour of France, Germany
and Canada.
While in France, the Prime
Minister will focus on technology
development and tourism
cooperation, in
Germany, he will pitch the
government’s “Make
in India”
theme, and in Canada, he
will focus on investment potential
and engage with the
Indian diaspora that numbers
more than 1.2 million.
“If I were to pick a common
theme, then it is that all three
G-7 nations are industrialised
democracies. We have considerable
economic interests
with them, and politically as
democracies, we have convergence
of views,” said Foreign
Secretary S. Jaishankar, announcing
the visit from April
9 to 17.
In France, the Prime Minister
will travel to three places
— Paris for the bilateral
visit and meetings with CEOs,
Toulouse to visit the Airbus
factory; the French space authority
CNES and discuss
building “smart cities” with
officials, and then to the
northern town of Lille where
he will drive to a memorial for
Indians who fought and died
in the first World War. One
highlight of this visit will be a
boat ride down the Seine
along with President Hollande,
taking in the sights of
Paris on Friday evening.
“It will be a naav pe charcha
(chat on a boat) situation,”
quipped Mr. Jaishankar, referring
to a similar tête-à-tête
with the U.S. President where
Mr. Modi and Barack Obama
shared a cup of tea, dubbed
chai pe charcha after their
talks.
Walk through fair
In Hannover, the informal
tête-à-tête with Chancellor
Merkel will be held in the
form of a walk through the
Hannover Messe industrial
fair, where India is a partner
this year. The two leaders will
inaugurate the India pavilion,
and will walk together as they
discuss the potential for German
manufacturers to “Make
in India.” “We have a very big
presence of India with almost
400 Indian companies displaying
their products and
100-120 CEOs being present.
Around 3,000 German business
delegates will be there,
and there is clearly a lot of enthusiasm
for ‘Make in India’
and investment possibilities,”
Mr. Jaishankar said.
Mr. Modi will then travel to
Berlin for the official State
visit and bilateral talks, and
will also go to see the Berlin
Railway Station, which is
known as a “model railway
station.”
Speaking to the media on
Mr. Modi’s visit, German Ambassador
Michael Steiner
said: “I think it is fair to say
that in the economic world
there is more optimism now.
The interest of economic
business from Germany has
grown. Yes, there is a change
but it takes time.”
His final stop in Canada will
be driven by two themes — investment
in India and reaching
out to the
Indian-Canadian community.
It is the first stand alone
visit by an Indian Prime Minister
to Canada since 1973 and
Mr. Modi will travel to Ottawa,
Toronto and Vancouver.
In Toronto, the Prime Minister
will meet pension investment
fund owners, especially
to pitch for Indian stocks.
“If you were to see Canada’s
assets, their top five investment
firms alone control
about $700 billion, so this is a
major investment potential
for us,” said an official. Mr.
Modi will begin his official
visit in Ottawa on April 15,
and then meet with Prime
Minister Harper for bilateral
talks.
Sources said a deal for nuclear
fuel could be announced
during the visit. In a Facebook
post, Mr. Modi wrote that he
looks forward to “Resuming
our civil nuclear energy cooperation
with Canada, especially
for sourcing uranium
fuel for our nuclear plants.”
