Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said no country could emerge victorious in the Ukraine conflict and that India was for peace and it appealed for an end to the war. Modi and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz addressed the media jointly after the Indo-German governmental consultations (IGC) at the Chancellery in Berlin.
"We believe that there will be no winner in this war and all will suffer losses. Therefore, we are on the side of peace… Due to the disturbance caused by the Ukraine crisis, oil prices are sky rocketing, there is a shortage of food grains and fertilizers as a result of which every family in the world has been burdened," Modi said.“Among democratic nations, India, Germany share several common values… I am happy that my first foreign visit of 2022 is happening in Germany. My first telephonic conversation with any foreign leader had happened with my friend Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Holding of the IGC shows how much importance we place in our strategic ties,” he further said.
Scholz, who invited Modi for the upcoming G-7 summit in Germany, said Russia had violated the UN charter by attacking Ukraine.
Later, Modi said India and Germany had decided to set up green hydrogen taskforce.
“India is among our very important partners here. The world can only develop well if we are clear as to the fact that futue relations in the world will be characterised and marked by many countries, not by a few powerful countries,” Scholz said.
He said India was committed to quick progress in free trade agreement negotiations with the European Union.
The PM was given a grand welcome at Berlin’s iconic Brandenburg Gate by the members of the Indian community after he arrived at the German capital on the first leg of his three-nation Europe trip that will also take him to Denmark and France.