Lucknow, September 02: Yogi government is continuously working to connect Uttar Pradesh's Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) with global markets. In this sequence, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed on Wednesday at the Invest UP office between the Department of MSME and Export Promotion and German Indian Business Alliance (GIBA) under the Indo-German Gateway Program. Its main objective is to prepare the state's export-oriented enterprises to enter German and European markets. This cooperation is non-financial, non-binding and non-exclusive in nature.
Principal Secretary, MSME and Export Promotion, Shashi Bhushan Lal, said on the occasion that 2026 is a historic year for India-Germany relations, as this year marks 75 years of diplomatic relations and 25 years of strategic partnership between the two countries. Germany is an important trading partner of India in the European Union, and more than 2,000 German companies operate in India. The state has a strong base of manufacturing units and export-ready MSMEs with significant potential for expansion in the European market. He proposed developing this program in a structured 12-month format, including stages such as enterprise assessment, market validation, establishment and post-entry support.
David Rendel, Mayor of Raunheim city in Germany, said this partnership should be free of paperwork and practical in nature. The number of programs should not measure its success, but rather concrete outcomes such as new business agreements, the presence of Indian companies in Germany and German companies starting projects in Uttar Pradesh. He emphasized developing Innovation Hub Rhein-Main as the institutional base in Germany and GIBA as coordinator on the Indian side.
Under the MoU, the focus will be on identifying priority sectors for UP, providing eligible enterprises with information about the program, coordinating with state government schemes, and assisting in enterprise preparedness. Along with this, work will also be undertaken on modernizing the Ghaziabad Common Facility Center (CFC), providing guidance on German technology, quality, testing and certification, and increasing contact with German technology providers. Joint workshops will also be organized on subjects such as German import standards, European Union trade rules, tariffs and export documentation. This MoU will remain effective for 03 years.
Invest UP CEO Vijay Kiran Anand, Industries Commissioner K.V. Pandian, Assistant General Manager Ritesh Saxena, UP Electronics Corporation MD Himanshu Kaushik, Innovation Hub Rhein-Main CEO Stefan Wittekind and GIBA Chairman Selvakumar Periyasamy, among other representatives, were present at the program.
