India proposes institutional linkages with Bavaria
Friday, 30 May 2003, 19:30 IST
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MUNICH: Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee has said India is interested in developing institutional linkages with the German state of Bavaria to upgrade technological training skills in Indian polytechnics and universities. "We need to promote greater interaction between our two countries to enhance our trade in IT and biotechnology products," Vajpayee said in a statement after a meeting with Edmund Stolber, the minister-president of the state of Bavaria. Vajpayee arrived here Thursday from Berlin, where he held talks with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, President Johannes Rau and Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer. The prime minister also proposed a partnership between Bavaria and one of the Indian cities in the entire range of the knowledge trade. "Bavaria is a pioneer in e-governance. Our cities -- Hyderabad, Bangalore and New Delhi -- are also developing useful e-governance systems. There may be mutual advantages in sharing experiences," he said. Pointing out that only 11 percent of Indian exports to Germany reach Bavaria, Vajpayee said: "With the Internet capital of Germany so closely linked to India's IT capital of Bangalore, we could have expected a greater share of the products of the new economy in our bilateral trade." Trade between India and Bavaria is currently pegged at around 500 million euros. Traditional items such as textiles and other manufacturing products dominate Indian exports to the German state. On Germany's decision to open the second overseas office of its investment promotion agency in Bangalore, Vajpayee said: "We hope that it will reverse the trend of a reduction in German investment flows into India in recent years."
Source: IANS
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