Berlin: India and Germany held consultations on United Nations and other multilateral issues on September 2 in Berlin, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Friday.

"In keeping with their strategic partnership, the two sides exchanged views on a range of UN and multilateral issues of mutual interest. Both sides briefed each other on their respective priorities for the upcoming 77th Session of the UN General Assembly," the MEA said in a statement.

The Ministry said the German side was also briefed on India's initiatives during its upcoming Presidency of the UNSC in December 2022.

As members of the G4 Grouping, both sides agreed to work together to accelerate the Intergovernmental Negotiations (IGN) on reforms of the UN Security Council, with an overall objective to achieve concrete outcomes in a fixed time frame.

Both sides also agreed to continue deepening their multilateral cooperation on global issues of mutual interest, including on Counter Terrorism and UN Peacekeeping.

MEA Joint Secretary (UN-Political), Prakash Gupta led the Indian delegation, which included officials from Indian Embassy in Berlin. Gunter Sautter, Director General for International Order, the United Nations and Arms Control, German Foreign Office led the German delegation, which also included other senior officials of GFO.

Germany is one of India's most important partners in Europe, owing to the strength of bilateral relations, as also Germany's key role in the EU.

On 7 March 2021, India and Germany marked the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. The anniversary was commemorated through several events held in the year 2021-22.

Economic and Commercial Relations: Germany is India's largest trading partner in Europe. It has consistently been among India's top ten global partners and was the seventh largest trading partner in FY 2020-21.

Bilateral trade in 2020-21 was USD 21.76 billion registering a marginal decline of about 1per cent over FY 2019-20. During 2021-22 (until October 2021), bilateral trade was USD 13.83 billion, which was an increase of 16 per cent over the corresponding period in FY 2020-21.

Germany is the 7th largest FDI source for India. The total FDI from Germany to India from April 2000-September 2021 is over USD 13 billion. In FY 2020-21, German FDI in India was USD 667 million, which was 37 per cent more than in FY 2019-20.