Representatives of the German-Indian Round Table, Coimbatore, and the German state of Thuringia signed a Memorandum of Understanding in the presence of Thuringia’s Minister of Economic Affairs, Science and Digital State Wolfgang Tiefensee to promote trade and commerce between the two regions.
Mr. Tiefensee said India had been in Thuringia’s radar for a long time as the State wanted to promote business with Coimbatore, which had one of the three Indian chapters of German- Indian Round Table.
He said he had a delegation representing 89 companies looking at business opportunities and it had visited New Delhi, Maharashtra and Karnataka before reaching the city. In Coimbatore, he expected a new level of cooperation as the city and Thuringia had been having parleys for quite sometime now.
His state had industries that were strong in automotive, life science, mechatronics, information and communication technology and therefore had similarities with Coimbatore.
German Consul General Karin Stoll said Germany had identified Tamil Nadu as the second biggest hidden champion in the country. A partnership between Coimbatore and Thuringia would add to the growing collaboration between India and her country.
Trading partner
At present 130 German companies were active in India, making Germany India’s largest trading partner in European Union and the sixth largest in the world.
Germany was also collaborating with India cities under the Smart Cities programme offering its expertise in sustainable development.
German-Indian Round Table Coimbatore Chapter’s founder and patron K. Ramasamy said Coimbatore, which was a cluster of small and medium enterprises, was ideally suited to tie-up with Thuringia and this MoU would pave way for good collaboration between industries in the two regions.
Roots Group of Companies Director S. Chandrasekar gave an overview of the background work that led to the signing of the MoU. Industry representatives from Thuringia and Coimbatore were present.
