Frank-Walter Steinmeier

Germany, India to discuss financial crisis, climate change

Frank-Walter SteinmeierNew Delhi - India and Germany plan to discuss responses to the global financial crisis and ways to deal with climate change during the visit of German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier due to begin Wednesday night, officials said.

Steinmeier scheduled talks with India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and opposition leader LK Advani on Thursday.

German and Italian ministers lay wreaths at Trieste death camp

Frank-Walter SteinmeierTrieste, Italy - Germany's Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Tuesday joined his Italian counterpart Franco Frattini in laying a commemorative wreath for the victims of a former World War II Nazi death camp near the north-eastern Italian port of Trieste.

Steinmeier was in Trieste Tuesday as part of a summit including talks between Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

German Foreign Minister to visit India

Frank-Walter SteinmeierBerlin - 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.

German foreign minister plans visit to Italian concentration camp

Frank-Walter SteinmeierBerlin - German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier plans to visit a World War II-era concentration camp on an upcoming visit to Italy, his office announced Saturday.

The move could be seen as an effort to mend fences with Italy. Some acrimony exists 60 years after the end of the war about demands for retribution for Nazi-era atrocities.

Steinmeier is set to visit Trieste for a summit meeting on Tuesday. He will take time during his Italian visit to go to the former Risiera di San Sabba concentration camp on Trieste's outskirts. Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini will join him.

Germany sees no radical change in US climate policy under Obama

Frank-Walter SteinmeierFreiburg, Germany - German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said Thursday he does not expect a radical change in US climate policy after Barack Obama takes over as president.

"America as a whole is not ready for the contribution it needs to make in order to lessen the negative affects of global warming," Steinmeier said.

German foreign minister urges support for Pakistan

Abu Dhabi - German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, on the final stage of his Pakistan and Gulf tour, met with top United Arab Emirates (UAE) leaders Wednesday, with the talks concerning his initiative to help Pakistan.

Steinmeier met with the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan and Deputy Premier Sheikh Hamdan for political talks and to help prepare for the conference of the "circle of friends of democratic Pakistan" to take place in mid-November in Abu Dhabi.

The initiative which Steinmeier proposed is to provide aid projects in Pakistan's health and energy sectors, in turn contributing to stabilising the country economically and politically.

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