Nuke Deal, Trade Top Singh-Merkel Meeting Agenda

On Sunday, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met Chancellor Angela Merkel Sunday on a first official visit to Germany aimed at championing robust bilateral trade and seeking support for a nuclear deal with Washington that Berlin has criticized.

Singh was welcomed by Merkel with military honors ahead of the opening of the Hanover Technology Fair where guest country India and Germany, the world's number three economy, hope to boost their rapidly growing ties.

Hunger for energy

He said in an interview published in the German business daily Handelsblatt Friday that the booming Indian economy was driving an enormous appetite for energy -- a key issue behind the controversial India-US civilian nuclear deal.

The pact, concluded during US President George W. Bush's visit to New Delhi in March, will give India access to previously forbidden technology for development of power stations.

India has promised in return to separate its military and civilian facilities and open most of the latter to international inspections.

The deal must be ratified by the US Congress and the 45-member Nuclear Suppliers Group -- of which Germany is a key member.

Nukes deal is criticized

But German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier criticized the deal on a visit to Washington this month, describing its timing "not helpful" amid international efforts to convince Iran to abandon sensitive nuclear research.

Iran insists its program is peaceful while the West suspects it is a cover for building nuclear weapons.

Steinmeier suggested in Washington that Germany could support the deal if it were the "start of a process" that eventually led India into the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which it has

refused to sign.

"I hope we can convince Germany to see this issue favorably," Singh was quoted by the Handelsblatt as saying.

The three-day visit will officially kick off at the technology trade fair in Hanover. The event is seen as a brand-building exercise for the more than 300 Indian companies showcasing expertise in automotive, energy, engineering services and research development.

Singh noted in the Handelsblatt interview that the Indian economy had grown an average of six percent per year since 1991, and picked up the pace recently to between 7.5 and eight percent. Germany expects a comparatively sluggish growth rate this year of

1.4 percent.

He said India aimed to reach 10-percent annual growth in the next five years, and said German companies could be key partners in major infrastructure projects such as building or improving roads, ports, rail lines and airports.