German Chancellor Angela Merkel ended a three-day visit to India on Thursday saying she was confident that improved business and political ties would help boost trade and global warming talks. "This journey pushed the relationship between Germany and India forward," Merkel told reporters in India's financial hub.
She said a whirlwind round of meetings with political and business leaders showed that "India is a country that is a good strategic partner" for issues such as efforts by Germany and other countries to combat global warming.
Merkel, who was accompanied by a high-powered business delegation, said she hoped to reverse years of German neglect of the subcontinent. "India is a country with great opportunities, but with great disparities as well," Merkel said.
She also pointed to India's need for nuclear energy as another business opening, should New Delhi manage to implement a deal with the United States that would bring the country into the global loop of nuclear commerce.
Bilateral trade has doubled in the past three years to 10 billion euros but both had "agreed to work towards an annual trade volume of 20 billion euros for 2012," the two countries said in a joint statement.
A defence agreement covering the exchange of information and cooperation in the fields of defence research, armament procurement and general defence technology was also signed on Tuesday. India is currently the biggest arms buyer among emerging nations.
Merkel's visit included talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi, the powerful head of the ruling Congress party, with topics including the war in Afghanistan and the situation in military-ruled Myanmar.
The chancellor's advisers said the environment was high on the agenda in Merkel's talks with Indian leaders, who have signalled the country is not ready to compromise economic growth by accepting binding limits on greenhouse gas emissions.