New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday sought German assistance in skill development, clean energy, waste water treatment and cleaning of rivers during talks with visiting German foreign minister Frank Walter Steinmeier in New Delhi, according to a statement from the prime minister’s office.

“The Prime Minister lauded Germany’s remarkable economic resurgence over the past decade. He described India and Germany, which are bound by democratic values, as ‘made for each other’ because of complementary skills and resources to power the next generation of industrial development through partnering in manufacturing and infrastructure development," the statement said.

“The Prime Minister also suggested that using Germany’s strength and experience in the area of skill development, both sides develop a concrete time-bound plan for training of Indian youth to meet Indian needs and the global requirement of skilled human resources. He also called for taking forward the ongoing cooperation in the area of clean energy and forging new partnerships in the areas of solid waste management, waste water treatment and cleaning of rivers," it said.

Steinmeier is one of the long list of foreign dignitaries who have visited India since the Modi government took office on 26 May. French foreign minister Laurent Fabius and then British foreign secretary William Hague have been among the stream of visitors to have made their way to New Delhi to establish contacts with new Indian leadership.

This is a far cry from the days he was shunned by the international community, mainly the West, for his allegedly turning a blind eye to the 2002 Gujarat riots in which many hundreds of people—mostly Muslims—were killed.

The German embassy in New Delhi played host to Modi early last year when he was chief minister of Gujarat and the members of the European Union (EU) in Delhi decided to reach out to Modi. EU’s outreach to Modi followed British high commissioner James Bevan travelling to Gujarat in October 2012 to meet Modi and formally ending a 10 year boycott of Modi.

During Monday’s meeting, Steinmeier conveyed Germany’s “strong desire" to work together with the new Indian government to further expand and deepen bilateral relations, the statement said.

Modi recalled his telephone conversation with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on 17 July while transiting through Germany on his way back home from Brazil where he had gone to attend the fifth meeting of the Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa (Brics) emerging economies’ meeting, the statement said.

“He expressed appreciation for Chancellor Merkel’s personal interest and commitment to India-Germany relationship. He said that India looked forward to the visit of Chancellor Merkel for the next round of Inter-Governmental Consultations in 2015," the statement added.

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