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

Welcome Address by Ambassador Mr. TCA Rangachari

H E Mr Carstensen, Minister President of Schleswig-Holstein,
H.E. Ambassador Mutzelberg,
Distinguished guests,

Two weeks ago, we had the privilege of welcoming the Chancellor in India. The fact that you are visiting India so soon thereafter is a further indication of the renewed interest of Germany in India. This is a good sign for the Indo-German partnership.

India and your state of Schleswig-Holstein have much in common. Your state prides itself for being between two seas - the North and the Baltic. India is also between two seas - the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal. You take pride that in your state five languages are spoken - more than in any other state in Germany. In India also, there are a variety of languages - several hundred mother tongues, two-dozen official languages and over a 100 languages spoken by tens of thousands. Like you, we have a large population of young people - about two-thirds of Indians or some 600 million are under 30 years of age. Maybe our people have higher reproductive rate. We share the pride you take in the diversity of your state with a mutiplicity of peoples. Indeed, our motto is Unity in Diversity. There is one difference. Unlike in Schleswig-Holstein, real estate is not available at low prices in India and we take far too many holidays. But overall, I hope you will find yourself entirely at home in India. We are a friendly people even if we talk too much.

One of the points that emerged during the visit of the Chancellor was that we had succeeded in doubling our trade well before the 2010 target date we had envisaged and presently, our two-way trade is 10 billion Euros. Germany is among the top ten investors but accounts for only 3.6 percent of the total flow that has come into the country so far. As Chancellor Angela Merkel said, 'Our co-operation has come a long way. We will have to further build on that. We feel the potential of India-Germany co-operation has not been fully tapped.' 'More bilateral interactions is needed particularly between their small and medium business enterprises.' She also called for greater co-operation in the research on aerospace, information technology and materials technology saying 'good research is required in scientific and technological spheres.'

Schleswig-Holstein is reputed to be Germany's number one in business start-ups and you have a large number of young and innovative technology-based companies supported by institutions that can provide start-up capital. We regard, as you do, medical technology, the maritime industry, the food industry, mechanical engineering, alternative energy technology and the healthcare sector as having enormous potential in the 21st century.

FICCI remains keen to work with the different regions in Germany. In pursuance of this objective, FICCI has sponsored business delegations to Germany, most recently during the visit of our Finance Minister in September. FICCI has also hosted business delegations from Germany, including SMEs and welcomes more such visits. Today's B2B meeting will open new vistas. I understand that you will be inaugurating the Business Development Centre at Gurgaon this evening. This is another step in promoting business.

You will have an opportunity, while you are in India, to see the vitality and vigour of the Indian industry. We have been slow starters. But we are ambitious and we have the capability to be among the front ranks of the world economy in the next several decades. Our present rate of growth compares favourably with that of Germany. We have a history of entreprenaurship. And as you can see from the Indian businesses represented here, there is much interest in working together with Germany. For the first time since independence, sixty years ago, we are also able to invest abroad and have acquired skills that are required in developed economies. Our partnership can, therefore, be truly two-way.

We look forward to having Germany as a partner in our venture to achive economic prosperity while working in a democratic framework. Or, to put it in other words, emulate the German 'miracle'. We have great admiration for the German nation and people and we wish to benefit from the excellence that you have achieved in different sectors. Let us build a new partnership in the 21st century.

On behalf of FICCI and on my own behalf, I welcome you to India and hope that you and your delegation will have a successful and enjoyable visit.