The Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany Mrs. Angela Merkel paid a state visit to India between 29 October and 01 November 2007. Her visit reinforced the close political ties between both countries and further boosted the thriving Indo-German economic relations. Bilateral cooperation in the field of science and research had serious focus in the visit.

Chancellor Merkel held political talks with Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and other representatives of the Indian Government in New Delhi. The Chancellor´s visit had a broad agenda in the framework of the strategic partnership, which India and Germany have established. Mrs. Merkel visit to India is also significant in her capacity as the incumbent G8-President.

Mrs. Merkel was accompanied by a high level delegation including the Federal Minister of Education and Research Mrs. Anette Schavan, State Minister for Economic Cooperation Mrs. Karin Kortmann, Members of the German Parliament, CEOs of top ranking German companies and the Presidents of Germany´s most important institutions for studies, science and research.

The German Chancellor came to India in times of thriving Indo-German economic relations. She interacted with representatives of the economic sector in New Delhi in the framework of an Indo-German Business Meeting and in Mumbai she attended the function of Indo-German Chamber of Commerce – Germany’s largest bilateral Chamber worldwide.

With a bilateral trade volume of 10.54 billion euros in 2006, Germany is India´s most important trade partner in the European Union. In the same year, Indo-German trade increased by 38.7 percent. German investments in India have surged dramatically and count about 2,000 Indo-German joint ventures since 1992. More than 2.6 billion euros from Germany were invested in India until 2005—not counting reinvestments of German companies with a base in India. At the same time, more and more Indian companies—mostly from fields such as information technology, the pharmaceutical or ancillaries industries— discover Germany as an ideal place for their investments in Europe.

Science, technology and engineering— the core elements for economic success—have become a key pillar of Indo-German relations. The German Chancellor and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh jointly flagged off “Science Express”, an exhibition on wheels which will travel all over India. New initiatives such as the opening of an Indo—German Science and Technology Centre were also announced.

A 30-member delegation including the new chief of industrial conglomerate Siemens AG, Peter Loescher, and senior managers from chemical company BASF and the Deutsche Bahn railroad firm accompanied the chancellor.

According to Bernd Mutzelburg, Germany’s Ambassador to India: “India’s strong economic growth means more business opportunities for German investors in sectors like infrastructure, S&T, energy, R&D and IT. Merkel also met Vice President Hamid Ansari, Congress President Sonia Gandhi, and opposition leader LK Advani in New Delhi.

The German Chancellor, who will take over the chair of the Nuclear Supplier Group in 2008, said Dr Singh had explained the internal situation regarding the Nuclear deal and spoke of the need to ‘make progress on the International Atomic Energy Agency rules’ before India and Germany could begin civil nuclear cooperation. Seven agreements and MoUs were signed between the two sides with release of comprehensive joint statement on further development of their strategic and global partnership.

The chancellor visited Mumbai, financial hub of the country, where she met top Indian business leaders. The annual trade between India and Germany amounts to US$15.1 billion with bilateral trade grew up to 39 percent last year. Germany is the seventh largest investor in India with total inflows of US$1.9 billion between 1991 and June 2007.

Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands paid a six-day visit to India from 24-29 October 2007. This was her second visit to India since 1986. Country’s crown prince, Prince of Orange and spouse Princess Maxima, Minister of Foreign Affairs Maxime Verhagen were among the high profile delegation.

The focus was on three main sectors, ecology, water, micro-finance as well as synergy among these sectors. The economic development in India and the possibilities for Netherlands businesses was another important angle of the visit. According to minister for Economic Affairs Maria van der Hoeven, “the Queen’s visit helped in boosting political and economic relations between the two countries”.

The Queen met Indian President Pratibha Patil, Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, and Opposition Leader LK Advani.

Trade and business ties between the two countries topped the agenda of the visit. Transport and logistics infrastructure, water management, environment, agriculture and food processing, and services and technology emerged as the common areas of interest. India is ranked 14th as a trade partner with Netherlands. In the past five years, the bilateral trade between India and the Netherlands has doubled and in year 2006 it touched US$2.7 billion. The Netherlands is the fourth largest investor in India.

Many agreements are already operational between India and the Netherlands. These include Air Services Agreement (1951), Treaty for Mutual Surrender of Fugitive Criminals (1971), Agreement on Economic and Technical Cooperation (1983), Cultural Agreement (1985), Convention for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and Prevention of Fiscal Evasion (1988), Agreement for Promotional Protection of Investment (1995), and MoU on Investment Promotion (2004).

The Queen visited The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) to understand the ecological developments in India. During the visit to Bangalore, she visited a training centre of Myrada an NGO in the village of Srinivasnagar in Bangalore. The Queen sought to understand how microfinance can assist Self Help Groups and Watershed Committees in improving the living conditions of the local population, particularly through efficient water-management like rain water stored in watersheds, checking erosion and storage of underground water at a sufficient level.

The Queen also visited the micro finance organisation Ujivan in Bangalore, which is fighting poverty on a commercial basis. The dignitary also had a meeting with four “Guru’s” who have contributed to the development of India in various fields: the “green revolution” (agriculture), the “white revolution” (production of milk) the “blue revolution” (satellite programme) and the “grey revolution” (information technology).

The three-day state visit of Philippines President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has brought a new warmth in the ties between the two ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) members in the fields of trade, investment, culture, and security cooperation.

The President noted that India was the fourth largest economy in the world (in terms of purchasing power parity), “and with that comes great responsibilities of India to her neighbours in the economic, political and security fields.”

“As one of the neighbours of India in the East Asian region, we are happy to be here to move the integration of our economies forward,” she said.

In a measure using purchasing power parity (PPP) calculations, India has the world’s fourth largest gross domestic product at US$4.156 trillion. PPP takes into account the relative cost of living and the inflation rates of countries, rather than using just the exchange rates, which may distort real differences in income.

President Arroyo invited the Indian business groups to invest in the Philippines in the areas of information technology, business outsourcing, mining, filmmaking, tourism, bio-fuels, asset privatisation and consumer products.

Philippine exports to India, led by electronics, was at US$119.5 million in 2006, while imports of Indian goods such as meat, wheat, and iron finished products amounted to US$400.9 million.

Ms Arroyo announced the signing of nine bilateral agreements with India:

• Framework of Philippines-India Bilateral Relations

• Agreement to Establish the Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation

• US$50-million credit line from the Export and Import Bank of India

• Philippines-India Joint Declaration for Cooperation to Combat International Terrorism, to include exchange of military personnel and students and joint military exercises in non-combat activities

• Memorandum of Agreement in the Field of Health and Medicine

• Agreement between the government-owned Philippine International Trading Corp. (PITC) and Indian State Trading Corp. on the purchase of $35 million worth of quality but affordable medicines from India

• Memorandum of Agreement on Enhanced Cooperation in the Field of Renewable Energy

• Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation between the Foreign Service Institutes of the Philippines and India

• MoU on the Waiver of Visa Requirements for Holders of Diplomatic and Official Passports

President Arroyo noted, “Our massive spending on health care includes importing pharmaceuticals from India as part of our programme to cut the price of medicines commonly bought by the poor by half”.

President Arroyo invited Indian pharmaceutical companies to set up manufacturing units in Philippines to provide medicines to the poor at affordable prices.

The President said. “I call upon Indian pharmaceutical companies to set up production facilities in the Philippines. This will help you keep the Philippines market and use it as a base to export to northeast Asia, Australia, and New Zealand”.