New Delhi, Apr 12 (KNN) India and Germany have agreed to co-operate in the development of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in both the countries.

“Both governments recognize that there is immense potential for cooperation between small and medium-sized enterprises in Germany and India.  It is these enterprises that guarantee growth, innovation and jobs,” said the joint statement issued after wide ranging talk between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin.

Both the sides appreciated the success of the Indo-German Manager Training Programme linking SMEs from both countries thus enhancing the understanding of the respective business cultures.

Both sides also recognised the importance of joint research and development projects involving medium-sized companies and business-oriented research establishments in both countries. “Both Governments accordingly intend to promote through their national programmes Indo-German research and development cooperation activities by companies and research establishments aimed at developing new marketable products, processes and technical services,” added the statement.

Underlining the importance of enhancing cooperation in the tourism sector, the joint statement said, “India and Germany have significant potential for enhancing tourism traffic between the two countries.” The two countries also agreed to encourage and facilitate the visit of tourists to each other’s countries and invited tour operators, travel agents, hoteliers and airlines to participate in each other’s tourism fairs and events.
 
India has proposed to hold the 7th Joint Working Group on Tourism Cooperation between India and Germany in Delhi at a mutually convenient date.
 
Both the countries jointly recognized the importance of norms and standards in opening markets and found Indo-German cooperation in this area as beneficial to both the economies.
 
Amid the Eurozone crisis, Germany wants to broaden trade and investment links with large emerging markets, while India is seeking German technology and expertise in areas such as renewable energies and education.
 
The leaders of Germany and India said that progress was being made on a new free trade agreement between India and the European Union but cautioned that there was still work to be done.

In that context, negotiations have been on-going for six years and officials had hoped to conclude the agreement by the end of 2012.   But the agreement has been hung up over a wide range of issues, including EU demands for intellectual property protections and investor guarantees, as well as import duties on automobiles.
 
Speaking after a joint meeting of their governments, Merkel and Singh said they were optimistic that the agreement could be concluded soon.

Both the leaders had launched the Indo-German intergovernmental consultations in New Delhi in May 2011, where cabinet ministers from both nations meet every two years.

Germany has such ties only with some European neighbours, China and Israel.

Germany is India's biggest economic partner in Europe, and two-way trade reached 18.3 billion euros (USD 24 billion) in 2011.   (KNN)