New Delhi, Jan 29 (Inditop.com) Ahead of German President Horst Koehler’s visit to India next week, German envoy Thomas Matussek Friday said his country was ready for civil nuclear cooperation with India if New Delhi requested this.
“We have not got a specific request (from the Indian side.) If the request is made, we will look at it in a positive manner,” the German envoy told reporters here.
“We are one of the leaders in nuclear safety. We can share our expertise in this area. But nothing has been requested so far,” Matussek said.
The envoy indicated that Berlin’s desire to cooperate with New Delhi in the area of civil nuclear cooperation was part of its broader diplomatic thrust to deepen its strategic partnership with India.
The issue could figure in discussions between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the German president, sources said.
Germany supported consensus in the Nuclear Suppliers Group for re-starting global nuclear cooperation with India in September 2008.
Koehler, who has been invited by President Pratibha Patil, will arrive in India on a week-long visit Monday, the first visit by a German head of state in the last seven years.
Manmohan Singh will hold talks with the German president Tuesday on a wide range of bilateral, regional and global issues.
The focus will be on closer partnership in addressing a host of global challenges, including international terrorism, climate change and poverty reduction, the German envoy said.
Koehler, a former head of the International Monetary Fund, will share his views with Indian leaders on the global financial crisis and reform of international financial institutions.
He will visit the Reserve Bank of India in Mumbai and interact with top Indian industrialists in India’s financial hub.
A high-profile business delegation, comprising some of the top names in German business and industry, will be accompanying Koehler to India.
