Delhi: German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius lays wreath at National War Memorial

A German delegation led by Pistorius arrived in India on Monday.

Upon his arrival in India from Indonesia, German Embassy in India tweeted, "A warm welcome to India, German Minister of Defense, Boris Pistorius & his team from @BMVg_Bundeswehr. Very happy to have you here and excited for two packed days in Delhi and Mumbai!"

Pistorius will today hold a meeting with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. He is also likely to meet a few defence start-ups during an event organised by Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) in New Delhi, the Ministry of Defence earlier said in a press release.

On June 7, German Federal Minister of Defence Boris Pistorius will visit Mumbai where he is likely to visit Western Naval Command Headquarters and Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited, the Defence Ministry statement said.

Ahead of his visit to India, the German Defence Minister said India's continuing dependence on Russian weapons is not in Germany's interest, German news agency Deutsche Welle (DW) reported.

"It is not up to Germany to change that on our own," Pistorius said in an exclusive interview with DW's top political correspondent Nina Haase in Jakarta. Pistorius was in Jakarta ahead of a four-day trip to India.

"This is an issue we have to solve jointly with other partners. But of course, we can't have an interest in the long run that India is so dependent on Russia's delivery of weapons or other materials," he added.

Boris Pistorius said that Germany is ready to support partners like India. He said, "I want to send a signal that we are willing to support our partners, our reliable partners like Indonesia, like India," DW reported.

Bilateral ties between India and Germany are founded on common democratic principles and are marked by a high degree of trust and mutual respect, according to the Ministry of External Affairs. India was amongst the first countries to establish diplomatic ties with Germany after the Second World War. (ANI)