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German President to renew focus on green energy corridor

German President Joachim Guack will arrive here on Tuesday on a six-day visit during which he will pick up the threads of discussions held between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Chancellor
Angela Merkel last April, especially on the setting up a green energy corridor in India, German Ambassador Michael Steiner told mediapersons here on Monday.
Dr. Singh and Dr. Merkel had described cooperation in renewable energy as a major focus of bilateral cooperation. After having decided to shun nuclear power, Germany developed expertise in renewable energy, Mr. Steiner said. More importantly, it was able to transport this energy from southern Germany to the northern parts with minimum transmission loss.
This is something Germany will seek to bring to India through a financial-technical agreement of Euros 1 billion that is at an advanced stage of discussion. As the joint statement of April last noted: “The integration and evacuation of renewable energy into their respective national grids plays a pivotal role with major technological and physical challenges. To support India in addressing these challenges, the German government expresses its intention to assist the establishment of ‘Green Energy Corridors’ in India through technical as well as financial development cooperation.”
Mr. Guack, a product of street protests and activism in the former East Germany ( German Democratic Republic) is keen on meeting Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Asked whether the two might meet, Mr. Steiner said: “I read the reports [about Mr. Kejriwal’s reported reluctance] as everybody did in the quality press in India. I do not want to comment further.”
According to reports, Mr. Steiner met Mr. Kejriwal at a reception and drew his attention to the Chief Minister’s office turning down the German President’s request for a meeting.

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