Modi to visit Hannover trade fair in April

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will travel to Germany in April to meet Chancellor Angela Merkel and to jointly open the Hannover trade fair where India is the official partner country.

The Hannover Messe 2015, the world's largest industrial trade fair, is to showcase the 'Make in India' concept.

The Hannover Fair, which will run from April 13 to 17, was set to give a boost to India's manufacturing sector, German ambassador Michael Steiner said.

"India's participation as partner country is of great importance to both India and Germany," he said in a statement.

"This fair provides the perfect platform to showcase India's engineering prowess and reinforce the government initiatives 'Make in India', 'Skill India' and 'Digital India'.

"It also has the potential to boost Indo-German cooperation, since German world class manufacturing enterprises and Indian world class IT engineers make a perfect match as drivers of industry," he said.

Annually, the Hannover Fair attracts about 200,000 visitors from across the world. China and Russia have been among the partner countries of Hannover Messe in recent years.

Last year, some 5,000 exhibitors from more than 100 countries showcased their products.