German President Horst Koehler arrived in New Delhi today for a week-long state visit to India that is expected to enhance the bilateral strategic partnership and push economic and security cooperation, according to dpa. Accompanied by a high-level business delegation, Koehler, 66, is to hold talks with President Pratibha Patil and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday before visiting Mumbai and Pune. "The key objective of President Koehler's visit is to open up new avenues for Germany and India to work together in developing a 21st- century world policy based on mutual cooperation," the German Embassy said. "India and Germany have traditionally enjoyed warm and friendly relations. The strategic partnership forged between the two countries in 2001 has further strengthened the ties," India's External Affairs Ministry said earlier. Koehler and Singh will hold talks on a range of bilateral, regional and global issues. On the agenda for discussion are global challenges including international terrorism, global financial crisis, climate change and poverty reduction. The German president, whose role is mainly ceremonial, is to assess the extent to which India can be counted on in the attempt to regulate international financial markets, a statement from his office said. India and Germany were discussing four pacts including one on security and counter-terrorism measures and another on economic and technological cooperation. The agreements were still being worked out and the talks in Delhi are expected to give a boost to finalising them for a later signing. Relations between India and German are also marked by rapidly growing economic and trade ties. Germany is India's biggest trade partner in the European Union with bilateral trade of more than 20 billion dollars. Koehler, who is accompanied by his wife Eva Luise, will have a busy schedule in India. It includes an interaction with top business leaders and visit to the Indian Institute of Technology in Delhi. On Thursday he will leave for western Maharashtra state, where he will visit the plants of German auto major Volkswagen and Indian energy company Thermax in Pune and meet with Indian industrialists in Mumbai. Koehler will also visit the Taj Hotel and the Jewish centre in Mumbai which were the targets of militants during the November 2008 attacks that claimed 166 lives. On February 7, Koehler and his wife are to continue their journey to South Korea, the current chair of the G20.
