Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman met top leaders and industrialists during her visit to Germany and discussed bilateral trade relations in the backdrop of the EU-India FTA deal, the Finance Ministry said on February 15.
Sitharaman met Lars Klingbeil, Vice Chancellor and Federal Minister of Finance, Germany and discussed the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz in India in January this year that strengthened bilateral relations, particularly in defence, trade, and technology.
Merz paid an official visit to India from January 12-13. The Chancellor was accompanied by a high-level delegation, including 23 leading German CEOs and industry leaders. Klingbeil, in the meeting with Sitharaman, called the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) a big step for trade and investments in India, and especially focused on the bilateral development cooperation and also the Metro rail expansion in India, according to an X post by Finance Ministry. She apprised Klingbeil about the success of India’s Digital Payment systems and willingness to share the best practices on India’s digital stack with Germany.
Sitharaman also met Brigitte Haas, Prime Minister of Liechtenstein, and Alois Philipp Maria, Hereditary Prince Alois of Liechtenstein in Munich. Both the leaders discussed the ongoing investments by Liechtenstein-based companies in India, and scaling up the partnership further in the fields of manufacturing, environment-friendly technology, agriculture-related equipment and Climate Change, according to the X post.