India and Germany will strengthen their bilateral and multilateral cooperation to combat terrorism, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday after holding extensive talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on enhancing ties in strategic areas, including defence, artificial intelligence and energy security.
According to German sources, at a special briefing for German journalists after the Inter Governmental Consultations and ahead of her restricted meeting with Modi in the evening, Merkel talked about Kashmir, saying the current situation on the ground there was "not sustainable and not good".
"This has to change for sure," Merkel was quoted as saying.
However, the Kashmir situation was not discussed during the IGC and as per sources, Merkel expected to hear from Prime Minister Modi plans for Jammu and Kashmir during their "restricted meeting". Modi also hosted a dinner in the honour of the visiting leader.
There was no immediate official confirmation on whether Kashmir was discussed during the restricted meeting between the two leaders.
The Modi-Merkel meeting comes amidst concerns expressed by some foreign lawmakers, including from the US, over restrictions imposed by the government post abrogation of Article 370 to withdraw Jammu and Kashmir's special status in August.
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Earlier in the day, the two countries inked 17 MoUs and agreements in various fields, including space, civil aviation, maritime technology, smart cities, medicine and education.
Five joint declarations of intent were also exchanged between India and Germany on consultations for the period 2020-2024, cooperation on strategic projects, partnership for green urban mobility, research & development on artificial intelligence, and cooperation in the field of prevention of marine litter.
Modi and Merkel, who co-chaired the fifth IGC, called on nations to ensure that their territory is not used for terror activities against other countries, in a veiled message to Pakistan.
"We will strengthen bilateral and multilateral cooperation to deal with dangers such as terrorism and extremism," Modi said in a statement at a joint media event with Merkel.
A joint statement, issued after Modi-Merkel talks, emphasised on strengthening counter-terrorism cooperation and called for a stronger international partnership in combating the "global scourge".
It also called upon all countries to work towards rooting out terrorist safe havens and infrastructure, disrupting terrorist networks and financing channels and halting cross-border movement of terrorists.
Modi also invited Germany to take advantage of opportunities in defence production in the defence corridors in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
He also hailed the strengthening of "far-reaching and strategic cooperation" between India and Germany in every field, especially in new and advanced technology.
In her remarks, Merkel said that when it comes to 5G and artificial intelligence, these were a challenge and the two countries could cooperate closely on these.
India and Germany identified artificial intelligence as one of the key areas of cooperation and signed a joint declaration of intent for it.
Pitching for intensifying of trade ties, Merkel said, "We know that our economic relations have increased but it could be intensified even more."