BENGALURU: German chancellor Angela Merkel will arrive in Bengaluru on Monday as part of her three-day visit to India to participate in the third Indo-German Inter-governmental Consultations hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

On Tuesday, she will visit German engineering major Robert Bosch’s facility in Adugodi that will showcase its key innovative projects and the group’s commitment towards skill development in the country.

Modi will accompany the chancellor during the tour following which both leaders will jointly address a Nasscom forum that will have German and Indian representatives. Both leaders are expected to discuss initiatives related to skill development, vocational training and Make in India. They will also participate in a working lunch with business leaders from India and Germany.

India and Germany share a strategic partnership that has its basis in strong business and economic links. Germany is India’s most important trading partner within the European Union and the sixth most important trading partner globally. Since 1990, the Indo-German bilateral trade has risen from 2.7 billion Euros to 16 billion euros in 2014. In the first seven months of this year, the bilateral trade between both the countries rose by 13 % over the previous year.

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Over 1,265 German companies have set up shop in India. Around 35 of them have R&D centres here, leveraging extensive design and engineering capabilities in several sectors including automobile, aerospace, healthcare and banking.

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Exploring synergies between India and Germany in IT and engineering research and development (ER&D), the IT industry body had created The Nasscom Germany Council in India that will identify enablers and address issues imperative for the growth of IT-related collaborations. The council’s objective is to increase the footprint of German companies in the country to leverage India as their preferred destination for R&D activities. Indian ER&D service players have also identified Germany as a focus country and have built extensive capabilities provide services to German global in house centres in India and to enterprises in Germany.