Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], January 12 (ANI): Federal Chancellor of Germany, Friedrich Merz, arrived at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport. He is on an official visit to India from January 12-13 at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

PM Modi will meet Friedrich Merz today in Ahmedabad. This will be Merz's first official visit to India.

At around 9:30 am on January 12, the two leaders will visit the Sabarmati Ashram and at around 10 am, they will participate in the International Kite Festival at the Sabarmati Riverfront. This will be followed by bilateral engagements from 11:15 am onwards at Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar.

The two leaders will review progress on the India-Germany Strategic Partnership, which recently marked its 25th anniversary. Their discussion will also focus on further intensifying cooperation in trade and investment, technology, education, skilling and mobility, while advancing collaboration in key areas of defence and security, science, innovation and research, green and sustainable development, and people-to-people ties.

Prime Minister Modi and Chancellor Merz will also exchange views on issues of regional and global importance and engage with business and industry leaders of the two countries.

The visit is expected to build on momentum from regular high-level political interactions and provide an opportunity to reaffirm India and Germany's shared vision to develop a forward-looking partnership for the benefit of both countries and the wider global community.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chancellor Merz last held discussions on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Canada, where the two leaders agreed to further broaden the bilateral strategic partnership.

During that interaction, Prime Minister Modi extended an invitation to the German Chancellor for an official visit to New Delhi.The visit is also taking place in the lead-up to the India-EU Summit scheduled for January 27.

The visit is significant as German Ambassador to India Philipp Ackermann on Saturday spoke about cooperation between India and Germany in defence and security areas, asserting that the strategic partnership between the nations has grown over the years. (ANI)