New Delhi - German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier called Thursday for a stronger presence by India in international policy circles, adding that the challenges of the 21st century cannot be faced "without a strong partner such as India."He said during a three-day visit to India that it was now time to expand beyond the forum of the Group of Eight industrialized nations and find "new formats."
India's participation at the world financial summit this past weekend in Washington was an important step toward shifting the balance of international policy, he added.
Steinmeier, who was beginning his visit to India, was to hold political discussions later in the day with opposition leader LK Advani before meeting with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee.
The leaders planned to discuss responses to the global financial crisis, which, Steinmeier said, the world had to face with international cooperation.
He and the Indian leaders were also to discuss ways to deal with climate change as well as the security situations in Pakistan and Afghanistan and Iran's disputed nuclear programme.
Steinmeier said he hopes the new US government, which takes office in January, would send new signals to Iran.
"Nothing changes in the fact that Iran must move on this issue," Steinmeier said, adding that international pressure on Iran must be kept up.
Steinmeier also said Germany was preparing its navy to take part in the fight against piracy in the Gulf of Aden as the bandits step up their attacks off the Somali coast. Two days earlier, the Indian Navy sank a pirate ship for the first time off the coast of Somalia.
The German parliament, the Bundestag, is to decide in December whether to participate in the European Union's operations against Somali piracy.
The EU's mission is set to begin on December 8 with contributions from countries that include France, Greece, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Sweden and Finland.
The German government is seeking clarification of the powers their soldiers would have in the region.
On Friday, Steinmeier was to travel to the southern city of Bangalore, considered India's information-technology hub, where he is to open a German consulate.
He was scheduled to leave for Berlin on Friday evening.
