Make in India: PM Narendra Modi to jointly inaugurate the Hannover Fair with Angela Merkel on his maiden Europe trip

NEW DELHI: Hoping to give his dream initiative ‘Make in India’ a big push, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will jointly inaugurate the Hannover Fair – world’s largest industrial fair – with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on April 12. India as country partner will see 350 enterprises from here.

The annual Hannover Fair, from April 13-17, had China and Russia as counter partners. It has chosen India as the partnering country this year following growing interest of German investors and enterprises in South Asia’s biggest country.

The Indian government is hoping to boost its manufacturing sector to give fillip to the economic growth and Germany with its phenomenal success in manufacturing would be key to fulfilling this country’s requirements, official sources told ET. Modi will be on over a week-long tour in mid-April that will take him to Germany, France, Belgium and Canada. Besides Hannover, he is expected in Berlin and few other German cities. This will be his maiden trip to all these nations. Interestingly, Merkel will be in India in the last quarter of the year.

In France, deals for Rafale fighter jet and missile that will be jointly co-produced in India besides expediting nuclear power plant at Jaitapur would top the agenda.

Besides additional investments from France – which increased by $1 billion to touch $19 billion last year – would be on the agenda, officials indicated. France which has mastered expertise in high-speed railway is also keen to explore the Indian market. Climate change issues will also figure during the trip ahead of the big summit in Paris later this year.

The Canada leg of the visit would see focus on early conclusion of Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, supply of uranium and hydrocarbon, increasing Canadian investments and bilateral trade.

German officials said that India was chosen as a partner at Hannover Fair due to its fast-growing economy and the many years of good relations between German and Indian enterprises. Last year’s Hannover Fair attracted the participation of 122 exhibitors and 2,400 visitors from India.

Modi is keen on tapping Germany's expertise in the manufacturing sector and heavy engineering. He has referred to the need for collaboration with the European power in both public and private meetings.

This was a key element in the talking points when Modi met Merkel last November in Brisbane on the sidelines of G-20 Summit.