Berlin - German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier is to pay a three-day visit to India starting Wednesday, his spokesman said Monday.

The crisis on the world's financial markets and the future international role played by India and other emerging economies will be the main focus of his talks, the spokesman said.

Steinmeier, who will be accompanied by a business delegation, is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee in New Delhi.

On Friday he is due to travel to the southern city of Bangalore, a centre of India's IT industry, where he will open a German consulate- general.

India, which has a population of 1.1 billion, has grown to become Asia's third biggest economy after Japan and China. It is one of Germany's most important trading partners. (dpa)