On her 3-day visit to India, German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Saturday pledged to invest a whooping €1 billion on environmentally-friendly urban mobility in India over the next five years.
The German leader is in the national capital at a time when the “severity” of pollution has pushed the declaration of public health emergency in the city. Taking in consideration the vehicular pollution Merkel said that emphasis should be on electric vehicle replacing the diesel-run public transport.
Apart from this investment, Germany would also pump in €200 million for reforming the bus sector in the state of Tamil Nadu. Germany would also like to work with India on various segments including healthcare, agriculture and artificial intelligence said, Merkel.
During the rounds of meetings on Friday, both the nations agreed to restart negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between India and European Union (EU). Its been over a decade when the negotiations on FTA first begun in 2007.
The negotiations are stuck since 2013 due to differences of opinion in regards to various issues like intellectual property rights, duty cut in automobile and spirits, and liberal visa regime between the two.
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Talks to intensify efforts for an early conclusion of an investment protection agreement between the EU, the EU member states and India were also held during the meetings.
