As strategic partners, India and Germany have had a longstanding relationship

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock will visit India on December 5-6 for bilateral talks, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced on Thursday.

"During her stay in Delhi, she will be hosted by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar for bilateral talks on 5 December. They will of course hold discussions on bilateral issues as well as regional and global issues of mutual interest," MEA Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said at the weekly media briefing on Thursday.

"As strategic partners, India and Germany have had a longstanding relationship underpinned by common values and shared goals," Bagchi added.

India and Germany marked 70 years of diplomatic ties in 2021.

Referring to several high-level engagements between the two countries in 2022, the MEA Spokesperson said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Berlin for the 6th India-Germany Inter-Governmental Consultations.

Prime Minister Modi visited Germany again for the G7 meet in Schloss Elmau at the invitation of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz as India was a partner country.

While there has been no official announcement yet, Chancellor Scholz is likely to visit India next year.

Incidentally, the German Foreign Minister's visit comes a little over a month after India objected strongly to her comments on Jammu and Kashmir at a joint press conference with Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Zardari Bhutto.

EAM Jaishankar and Foreign Minister Baerbock had met earlier this year when EAM Jaishankar attended the Munich Security Conference (MSC) in February.