Coimbatore – A Joint German Indian Round Table Meet for Business Opportunities in Coimbatore was held at Residency Hotel, Coimbatore. Industry bodies from Thuringia in Germany and Coimbatore participated in this. Businessmen and academics from Germany were invited by the Minister of Science and Digital Society Economy of Thuringia, Germany, Mr. Wolfgang Tiefensee and the Consul General of the Federal Republic of Germany, Chennai, Mrs. Michaela Küchler.

The concept of this seminar is to discuss doing business in Western Tamil Nadu, India.

The inaugural address of the conference was delivered by Mr. K. Ramasamy, Chairman of Roots Group of Companies and Founder Patron of the German-Indian Round Table – Coimbatore Chapter. Dr. S. Chandrasekar, Corporate Director of Roots Group of Companies and Head of German-Indian Round Table – Coimbatore Chapter, welcoming the participants said, GIRT has been created with the industrial development of both Countries in mind. Through this, entrepreneurs are visiting both the countries in person to discuss and continue to take necessary steps to improve the Industry. The Prime Minister of India has set a target to increase India’s economy to 5 trillion by 2024. Despite the spread of the Coronavirus, Indian Companies are now recovering from it and working towards their goals.

The Tamil Nadu Government is giving more importance to Industrial development. It has set a target to reach one trillion by 2024 and is implementing various schemes. Tamil Nadu is the second largest economy in India. The state has innumerable resources including electricity.

Today’s meeting has provided an opportunity for German industrialists to know about the opportunities to start Business in western region including Coimbatore, Tirupur, Erode, Salem, Namakkal, Karur and Nilgiris.

All the districts of Western Tamil Nadu are industrially developed areas. It is famous for various industries including casting, coconut, textile industries. This event is a good opportunity for German entrepreneurs to know about this, he said.

According to Mrs Michaela Kuchler, Consul General of the Federal Republic of Germany in Chennai, Germany was India’s largest trading partner in the European Union and the sixth largest worldwide. There was potential for further strengthening of this partnership. Tamil Nadu had 500 German companies that were members of the Indo-German Chamber of Commerce and was among the top four destinations for German companies, she said.

Managing Director of Gedee Group Mr. G.D. Rajkumar said both Germany and India required skilled manpower and engineers. For both economies to grow, there should be strengthening of relationship to skill people.

Mr. Raimund Grafe, Head of the State Representation of Thuringia in Berlin and Ms. Franziska Kindervater, Director, South Asia LEG Thüringen/State Development Corporation of Thuringia Chapter Head GIRT Thuringia and Dr. S. Chandrasekar, Chapter Head of GIRT Coimbatore, spoke about the advantages in both the regions and the potential for strengthening of cooperation.

The Chief Guest was the Minister of Economic Affairs, Science and Digital Society of the Free State of Thuringia, Germany, Mr. Wolfgang Tiefensee speaking on the occasion said, happy to participate in this event. It is time for both Countries to move towards a new vision and direction in the industry. It doesn’t matter what we have achieved in the last 10 years in the industry. What matters most is what kind of growth we are going to get in the industry in the coming years.

Industrial development is easily possible if both Countries work together for this. India’s great strength is its excellent educational institutions and large youth population.

We are all aware of the ongoing war in Ukraine. We must all come together and make this world a better place. It is a very appropriate choice to hold this event in an industrial city like Coimbatore, which plays an important role in India’s industrial development. We are very happy to work with Coimbatore industry, he said.

Founder Patron of GIRT Coimbatore K. Ramasamy said there were several similarities between Coimbatore and Thuringia and there would be mutual business development in the two regions.