German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged German companies on Monday to boost investment in India, which she described as a land of immense economic opportunity.
Merkel was speaking at an industrial trade fair in the city of Hanover, which she opened along with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. "India is a country with gigantic opportunities and a high rate of economic growth," Merkel said in a speech.
"All doors have been opened by the Indian government and society and we should enter through these doors," she said.
India has become a reliable partner for German firms in recent years and an increasingly important customer for German goods such as machinery and equipment, the VDMA engineering association said on Monday.
At a separate news conference in Hanover, VDMA President Dieter Brucklacher said German engineering companies had sold goods worth 1.5 billion euros ($1.86 billion) to India in 2005 and exports there had surged 137 percent since 1999.
Germany was also importing an increasing amount of machinery from India, Brucklacher said. However, he also complained that India was among the worst offenders in copying German machinery technology, along with China, Taiwan and Italy.
The Indian leader is currently on a three-day visit to Germany, and he has said he hopes Berlin will support his country's civilian nuclear programme.
On Sunday, Merkel said Germany may offer India more help with the programme subject to the ratification of a US deal to provide New Delhi with nuclear technology.
Merkel said she accepted an invitation from Singh to visit India later this year.
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