Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma met with Excellency Dr. Florian Herrmann, Head of the Bavarian State Chancellery and Minister of State for Federal Affairs in Munich during his trip to Germany, as part of Rising Rajasthan Global Investment Summit to be held from 9-11 December, 2024.
During the meeting, Chief Minister Sharma invited Germany to become a ‘Partner Country' of the upcoming ‘Rising Rajasthan' Global Investment Summit 2024 and offered to set-up a dedicated investment zone for the German investors in Rajasthan on the model of successful Neemrana Japanese Investment Zone.
The delegation also proposed a sister partnership between Bavaria state of Germany and the Indian state of Rajasthan with a special emphasis on renewable energy.
The Chief Minister also requested Excellency Dr. Herrmann to consider setting-up an office in Rajasthan to bolster the ties between Bavaria and Rajasthan and sought support of the German government in facilitating new investments in the state. A partnership on meeting the requirements of skilled manpower of both, Bavaria and Rajasthan was also discussed during the meeting.
Bhajan Lal Sharma is leading a delegation which includes Deputy Chief Minister Diya Kumari, ACS to CM Shikhar Agrawal, BIP Commissioner Rohit Gupta, Discoms Chairperson Arti Dogra and other senior officials.
Germany can be a strategic partner
After the meeting, Chief Minister Shri Bhajan Lal Sharma said that Germany is one of India's most important trade and strategic partners and possesses the world-renowned technological expertise.
“We had a very productive round of discussion with the representatives of the Germany government and sought their support to facilitate the sharing of technology and investment in Rajasthan. We are willing to set-up a dedicated investment zone for the German investors in Rajasthan like Neemrana Zone for Japanese investors,” he said.
Museum Collaboration
The delegation also visited Munich-based Deutsches Museum, a prominent science and industry museum established in the year 1903.
During the visit, discussions were held about comprehensive collaboration between the Deutsches Museum and Jaipur's Albert Hall Museum, which includes hosting joint exhibitions, promoting cultural and historical tours, collaborating on research programs in STEM, creating internship opportunities for Rajasthani youth at the Deutsches Museum and adopting best practices for preserving other historical sites in Rajasthan.
Energy ties
The delegation later visited the campus of SFC Energy AG, a leading producer of hydrogen and direct methanol fuel cells and invited the firm to explore investment opportunities in Rajasthan. The delegation apprised the officials of the German firm of Rajasthan's dominant footprint in the field of renewable energy, ambitious goals towards green energy and immense scope in the field of production of fuel cells. SFC Energy officials showed interest in doing business in Rajasthan.
Prakash Bhandari is a veteran journalist with over 50 years of experience. He has worked with The Times of India for 30 years and contributed to leading publications as well as international news agency AFP.
