Visit of Minister President of Schleswig-Holstein to FICCI
November 14, 2007, New Delhi

Welcome address to be held by Minister-President Peter Harry Carstensen, Schleswig-Holstei

Dr. Kebschull,

Dr. Bosche,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I welcome you most warmly to this partner-matching event, and I'm very glad that we are about to take the dialogue between German and Indian industry a good step forward, jointly and systematically. The timing could scarcely have been better: a strong link has already been forged this morning:

"Doppelherz" (Double Heart) is now beating, so to speak, with the strength of both the German and the Indian heart.

The link that has been created here can serve as a model for fortune partnerships and business relations. We intend to start a dialogue, today, that will offer our small and medium enterprises new and wider opportunities of cooperation.

India is an up-and-coming economic nation. More than that: it's an economic giant that has to be taken seriously. Its growth rates make us Europeans turn our eyes to the subcontinent with admiration:

9 percent growth of the gross domestic product in the first quarter of this year and 600 percent growth of the index at the Bombay Stock Exchange are impressive milestones in the positive economic development India has undergone in recent years.

This is a country with future - and a market with a future, too. Whereas the demographic trend in Europe is leading to an aging society, a good half of India's population of over a billion is under 25 years of age.

From the point of view of purchasing-power parity, India has become the world's third-largest economic power after America and China. Capital is available, thanks to the favourable development of the country's stock market; English is widely spoken, and it is hoped that a reliable and stable democratic system will round off this list of attractive location factors for foreign investors.

The share of foreign trade in the gross domestic product had increased fourfold over the past 20 years. I already said, at the beginning, that the gross domestic product has increased enormously during this time. That makes one thing clear beyond doubt: India is becoming more and more dependent on trade with other countries, on partnerships and new friendships.

And that is the point where we meet. Germany has been able to defend its title as "world champion in exports" several times in recent years. Our foreign trade balance is very sound indeed. Exports are the locomotive of the considerable upswing.

Germany's economy has experienced over the past eighteen months. But in Schleswig-Holstein it's not the big international groups that bring orders, employment and education. Quite the reverse: it's the small and medium enterprises - in every sector - that are investing and growing.

Last year, the number of companies established in Schleswig-Holstein was greater than it had been for ten years. The public funding bodies are reporting a record number of inquiries about investment and innovation grants.

Together with Hamburg metropolitan region - our gateway to the world in North Germany - we have stepped up the creation of jobs. The dovetalling of the academic world with industry is progressing steadily, and our policy is helping to steer the process.

And that is what I'm hoping for today. Our WTSH has drawn up company profiles and created this opportunity of meeting each other. That will be a valuable experience for both sides, of that I'm certain. And I would be very pleased if it turned out to be the start of fruitful cooperation in one case or another.

Dr. Bosche, Dr. Kebschull: our WTSH is an acknowledged expert in finding contacts and advising companies in new and expanding markets.

Before we officially open our Schleswig-Holstein Business Center this evening and thus create a permanent institution in this field, let's already look forward to new contacts during this partner-matching event that will hopefully prove valuable for both sides.

Welcome to you all - and I wish you interesting meetings.

Thank you!