The Hindu Business Line : ‘€20 b target for trade with Germany in sight’

New Delhi, Oct. 6 The Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Mr Kamal Nath, on Monday said that reaching the bilateral trade target of €20 billion by 2012 between India and Germany appears within sight and the strength of the relationship is evident from the healthy growth in bilateral trade.

Stating this at his interaction with Mr Christian Wulff, Minister-President of the State of Lower Saxony (Germany), here, Mr Nath pointed out that the State of Lower Saxony could be an important trading partner in sectors such as agriculture, mining, crude oil, manufacturing, aviation, shipbuilding, biotechnology, steel, tourism industry and telecommunication.

During discussion, both sides agreed to enhance bilateral relations between Lower Saxony and India.

India’s Priority

Mr Nath stated that India’s priority is to carry forward its reform process so as to accelerate growth in an inclusive manner. Bilateral trade between India and Germany is showing a consistent growth. During 2007-08, bilateral trade was of $14.7 billion as against $11.5 billion during 2006-07. India’s major exports to Germany include readymade garments, machinery and instruments, electronic goods and transport equipments, while major imports from Germany include machinery (except electrical and electronics), iron and steel, machine tools and organic chemicals.

Investor-friendly

During the meeting, Mr Nath emphasised that Lower Saxony should take advantage of India’s investor-friendly climate and German companies should show greater engagement with India, especially in the sectors of infrastructure, information technology, bio-technology and automobile, an official release said.

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