India assumes responsibility for dealing with challenges, says German ambassador. (File)
The Sustainable Development Agenda for 2030 and Paris climate change agreement are unattainable without Indian cooperation, Germany's Ambassador to India, Martin Ney said today.
Germany also pledged to provide a funding of 765 million euros in 2019 in big ticket projects like Smart Cities mission and Clean Ganga.
The ambassador was addressing the media on the 60th anniversary of development cooperation between India and Germany.
"India is the among the largest recipients of development cooperation. Without Indian cooperation, goals like 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda and Paris climate change agreement are unattainable. India is placed at 131 out of 180 at the World Development Index. Out of the 20 most polluted cities in the world, 12 are in India.
"But India assumes responsibility for dealing with challenges and we help them enforce the programmes institutionally," the ambassador said.
The German Embassy today signed an agreement with the Indian government for investing 765 million euros for 2019 for different projects in the country.
"This morning only, we signed an agreement for providing an investment of 765 million euros in support of Indian development parties," said Professor Claudia Warning, Director General for Asia at the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation.
"Germany will continue to support India in establishing smart cities developing sustainable energy solutions, reducing carbon emissions, protecting biodiversity and building better lives for its people," Warning added.
Between 2013 and 2018, Germany has pledged 6.428 million euros for new projects, including an average annual committement of 1.1 billion euros.