German chancellor Angela Merkel reaches India in military cargo plane

NEW DELHI : German chancellor Angela Merkel was forced to fly in a military cargo plane to India on Sunday after her official plane broke down for maiden trip here under the Modi government for the third Inter Governmental Consultations (IGC) to push economic and strategic partnership.

Merkel's visit is aimed at boosting bilateral trade for defense, technology and automobiles.

"Konrad Adenauer," the German chancellor's specially equipped Airbus A340 named after Germany's first post-war chancellor, was grounded at Berlin on Sunday following unspecified technical faults shortly before takeoff.

Instead, Merkel and her entourage flew to New Delhi aboard the "Kurt Schumacher," a relatively modest Airbus A310 used by the German military and named after the post-war head of the Social Democratic Party.
The military cargo plane lacks the comforts of A340 including a separate meeting room for the German leader.

Merkel and her aides sat at the front of the military jet, followed by four cabinet members, then industry representatives with reporters at the back.

IGC includes defense and arms sales , increased infrastructure modernization, market access for German-made automobiles and pharmaceuticals, among others.

Germany is India's largest trading partner in the European Union and the seventh largest foreign investor in India. Bilateral trade during 2014 was valued at 16 billion euro ($17.9 billion dollars), well below the 20-billion-euro target within a year set by Merkel on her previous visit in 2011.