Narendra Modi to visit Germany, Spain, Russia during three-nation tour starting 29 May

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will undertake a three-nation tour of Germany, Spain and Russia from 29 May with an aim of consolidating the relations with these countries and inviting investments to India. The visit to Germany and Spain will be bilateral in nature while the trip to St Petersburg in Russia is in connection with the St Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) to be held from 1-3 June, sources said.[caption id="attachment_3364512" align="alignleft" width="380"]

File image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. PTI[/caption]The SPIEF, which will be attended by thousands of business leaders from across the globe, will provide Modi an opportunity to invite investments in India. On the sidelines of the SPIEF, the prime minister is expected to have talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin to review the state of bilateral relations and ways to push the ties further, the sources said. Matters related to trade and investment, defence and nuclear cooperation are expected to figure in the talks.India and Russia are currently in talks over finalisation of the General Framework Agreement (GFA) for units 5 and 6 of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP) in Tamil Nadu but it is not clear yet whether it would be signed during the visit. In Germany, the first stopover of the five-day three-nation tour, the prime minister will hold talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel and discuss ways to take the strategic relations to the next level by mainly enhancing the business ties.This will be his second visit to Germany in two years. Earlier, he had paid an official visit to the country in April 2015 when India was the 'Partner Country' in the annual Hannover Fair. Merkel had subsequently visited India in October in the same year. On 31 May, the Modi will be in Spain where his focus will be on seeking cooperation in sectors like infrastructure and energy, the sources said.After return from the three-nation tour, Modi will be travelling to Kazakhstan to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meet to be held in Astana on 7-8 June. Significantly, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is also expected to attend the Summit of the SCO, a grouping which includes Russia, China, Kazakshstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. He will also be travelling to the US and Israel, for which dates are being finalised.