Coimbatore : German India Round Table GIRT of Coimbatore and Thuringia has signed an MOU to promote trade, commerce and research activities between two.

Speaking at a function got up for the signing of MoU last night, Thuringia’s Minister of Economic Affairs, Science and Digital State Wolfgang Tiefensee said since 2012, the State has defined India as one of our target markets and successively intensified our contacts with Indian business associations and the Indian Embassy through various measures.

Currently 89 Thuringian companies have export relations to India and the region was also active at major international trade fairs, both in India and Germany, he said.

Stating that Turingia and India have many connections, especially in the fields of medical technology, optics, photonic and engineering, he said it has got also strong ties between Delhi State, Maharashtra and Karnataka government.

There are 19 cooperation agreements between Universities in Thuringia and India, he said.

In her address, German Counsel General, Chennai Karin Stoll said that Tamil Nadu is the second biggest economic cluster in India and somehow a hidden champion as well.

Germany is the biggest trade partner of India in the European Union and the sixth most important trading partner of India worldwide, she said.

In Tamil Nadu alone over 130 companies have created some 25,000 jobs and still wanted to make our partnership even more fruitful and have set up a Joint Working Commission last year between the Government of Tamil Nadu, Consulate General of Germany and the Indo-German Chamber of Commerce, Karin said.

“Germany stands for sustainable solutions and that is why we have committed ourselves to the Smart Cities Initiative. Coimbatore is a good example for cooperation in a multi stakeholder approach,” she said.

Today we proudly count around 400 partnerships between India and Germany and 15,000 Indian students are presently studying in Germany, she said adding. last year marked 60 years of bilateral development cooperation between Germany and India and had pledged nearly Rs 8,500 crore for development cooperation with India in 2019, Karin said.

Priority areas are renewable energy, sustainable urban development and here or solid waste management and promotion of urban mobility, Karin said.

Founder and Patron of Coimbatore GIRT, K Ramasamy said taht the Mou will deepen the relations in Industry and trade between two region.