Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi – in office since May 2014 – is making his first visit to Germany. The occasion: HANNOVER MESSE 2015. This was confirmed today by Marc Siemering, HANNOVER MESSE Senior Vice President, at a press conference in New Delhi. India has been named the official Partner Country at next year’s edition of the world's leading industrial trade fair. Together with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will officially open HANNOVER MESSE 2015 on the evening of 12 April, then take part in the traditional opening day tour on 13 April.

India's role as the Partner Country at HANNOVER MESSE underscores the new Indian Prime Minister’s ambitious economic course. Under the slogan of "Make in India", Modi is promoting the modernization of India's factories and infrastructure and greater foreign investment in local production. Modi is convinced that production industries form the backbone of the Indian economy, and to develop that backbone, the emerging Indian economy has an active interest in German infrastructure, research and technology.