By IANS,
New Delhi:India and Germany Tuesday signed four pacts to expand their cooperation in the fields of education and research, as also high-tech areas like nuclear physics as the two countries resolved to push for reforms of the United Nations Security Council.
The pacts were signed after wide-ranging talks between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and German Chancellor Angela Merkel that included discussions on the intensification of trade and investment, nuclear energy cooperation and the the UN reforms.
The two leaders also discussed regional issues such as the situation in Libya and Afghanistan and sought to expand their counter-terror cooperation.
“Germany and India are members of G4. We have been arguing for a long time that the global system needs to be brought up to date in tune with contemporary realities,” Manmohan Singh at a joint press conference with Merkel, who is on a day-long working visit to the country.
“The new realities of the global scene have to be taken into account in looking at reform of the global structures of governance,” he said.
Merkel could not agree more, saying Germany and India will work together for getting a permanent seat in the UN Security Council. She also stressed on “speeding up the process of the UN reforms”. Both Germany and India currently hold rotating non-permanent seats in the UN Security Council.