By IANS
New Delhi : India and Germany Tuesday signed seven agreements, including four in the area of science and technology and one in defence co-operation.
The agreements were signed in the presence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and German Chancellor Angela Merkel at Hyderabad House Tuesday night.
Germany’s emphasis on cooperation in the area of cutting-edge technology was reflected in the number of science pacts. The agreements include setting up of an Indo-German science and technology centre, launching a Science Express train, co-operation in marine sciences, as well as a memorandum of understanding between their departments of science and technology and a Lindau Nobel laureates council.
In line with the strategy for closer collaboration in science, a bilateral co-operation MoU between their patents offices was also signed Tuesday.
Besides, the two defence ministries inked an agreement on “mutual protection of classified information”, as well as a MoU for co-operation between the postal departments.
German Chancellor Merkel arrived Monday on a four-day visit to India. On Wednesday, she leaves for Mumbai where she will be meeting captains of Indian industry. India and Germany have set a target to reach a trade volume of 20 billion euros by 2010.