German Chancellor Angela Merkel delivering a speech at the Digital Summit (Digital Gipfel) in in western Germa... Read More

NEW DELHI: On the eve of a bi-annual summit visit by German chancellor Angela Merkel , German envoy Walter Lindner said his country supported the European Union position that Article 370 was India’s internal matter.

“Both leaders can discuss anything, so this issue (Kashmir) may come up. We fully support the EU position in the matter as was detailed by (foreign policy chief) Federica Mogherini . Our position remains that Article 370 is an internal matter for India. But we support dialogue between India and Pakistan and any restrictions (in Kashmir) should be lifted as soon as possible,” he said.

Asked about the ongoing visit by EU MEPs, he said, “The EU has already said it is a private visit and that is our stand too. We didn’t have any idea that they are coming to India and I know as much as you do.” The composition of the delegation and the nature of the visit has made it very controversial, reversing some of the gains the government may have wanted.

Merkel, who will arrive on Thursday, will sign nearly 20 agreements with PM Narendra Modi . Lindner said representatives of about 15 ministries of the German government would be in Merkel’s delegation. She will be accompanied by 13 business leaders as well.

The stalled Bilateral Trade and Investment Agreement will feature prominently in the talks, he said. “Germany is second only to China in exports and we are totally in favour of free trade agreements. The fact that we have made no movement is not good,” he added.

India and Germany have instituted a fast-track mechanism for bilateral consultations to cut through Indian bureaucratic delays in investments. Germany, Lindner said, is seventh in FDI into India. The mechanism has already solved about 18 problems while another 3-4 were pending, he said.

