ISA is fabulous idea, should be expanded geographically: German Envoy

Germany is in favour of the expansion of the International Solar Alliance (ISA). "This fantastic idea should be expanded geographically," German Ambassador to India Martin Ney said on Thursday.

Speaking at an event, Ney pitched for the expansion of the ISA in an effort for all the countries to come together to step up its fight against climate change and promote solar energy. He informed that Germany has applied to become a member of the ISA.

"The International Solar Alliance is a fabulous idea. This fantastic idea must be expanded geographically. We have applied to become a member of the ISA," he said.

On the eve of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Argentina to attend the G20 Summit, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale on Tuesday said that the Prime Minister will request other countries, which are not between Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, to join the ISA.

Terming India and Germany as "natural partners", Ney said that there is a lot of mutual trust and equal partnership and Germany supports India to achieve sustainable development.

"India is one of the fastest growing economies, but there are some challenges. Still, 22 per cent of the population is below the poverty line. According to WHO, 20 of the most polluted cities are in India. Germany is ready to cooperate on providing a solution to these challenges," Nay added.

He underlined that Germany can be an important partner for India in the energy sector and is seeking to increase its cooperation in solar energy.

Talking about Germany's expertise in cleaning the Ganga River, the German Ambassador said, "We're helping to clean the Ganga. We're helping institutionally. It's still in a half clean situation. It's a holistic approach."

He added that there is an ongoing study on high-speed train project in India. Underlining that safety is a very important factor, Ney said that Germany is working on the same.

Meanwhile, Claudia Warning, Director General for Asia at the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation, said that the German government is trying to do major developments in the energy and climate sectors.

Expressing concern about climate change, Warning elucidated, "India will be the hotspot for climate change till the next few years. This is due to the rising temperature and change of monsoon patterns. In Germany, we have also experienced drought-like situations."

Terming India as a "good partner" for cooperation in solar energy, Warning toyed with the idea of promoting rooftop plants in India. "In Germany, we are on the way of this. We will try to bring cooperation in both environmental and solar energy," she said.

"India is providing knowledge to German agriculture also. Germany gets understanding of sustainable soil as Indian agriculture researchers share knowledge on this. India has a lot to give to the world in terms of knowledge," Warning added.

She further said that there is active cooperation between India and Germany in the African region and efforts are being made to further extend collaboration over the same.