India, Germany discuss ways to cement bilateral ties

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla on Thursday met Jochen Flasbarth, State Secretary of the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and discussed bilateral ties and development cooperation.

Flasbarth was accompanied by the German ambassador to India, Walter J Lindner.

“Foreign Secretary @harshvshringla met State Secretary @JochenFlasbarth of the German Ministry for Economic CooperationDevelopment @BMZ_Bund to discuss bilateral ties, development cooperationforthcoming engagements,” Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said in a tweet.

Meanwhile, on April 14, he also met the US Congressional delegation, led by Chairman of the Armed Forces Committee Adam Smith, in New Delhi.

The delegation also included Congresswoman Chrissy Houlahan and Congressman Austin Scott.”Foreign Secretary @harshvshringla met US Congressional delegation led by Congressman @RepAdamSmith, Chairman of the Armed Forces Committee and consisting of Congresswoman @RepHoulahan and Congressman @AustinScott4GA,” MEA tweeted.

Bagchi said the two sides had a fruitful discussion on all areas of bilateral cooperation.This visit comes a few days after the Fourth India-US 22 ministerial dialogue.

During the dialogue, the foreign and defence ministers of the two countries commended the significant and continuing progress in the India-US Major Defense Partnership.

On the trade front, the ministers underlined the importance of strengthening the commercial and economic pillar of the India-U.S. partnership to advance economic growth and deliver mutual prosperity for both countries.

They applauded the rebound in bilateral trade between the two countries over the last year, surpassing USD 113 billion in goods. (ANI)