The Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany in Bangalore represents the interests of the

Government of Germany The Federal Cabinet or Federal Government (german: link=no, Bundeskabinett or ') is the chief executive body of the Federal Republic of Germany. It consists of the Federal Chancellor and cabinet ministers. The fundamentals of the cabinet's or ...

in the

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

n states of

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO 15919, ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reor ...

and

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South Ca ...

. It was opened on 21 November 2008 in a temporary office in the

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides with the "city ...

(CBD) of

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

. On 22 June 2012, the Consulate moved to its permanent premises in the corner of St. Mark's Road and Residency Road near the

Bishop Cotton Girls' School Bishop Cotton Girls' School, or BCGS, is a private all-girls' school for boarders and day scholars in Bangalore, Karnataka, India. The school offers academic scholarships, which aid students from lower income backgrounds to afford tuition and ...

. Achim Burkart is the current Consul General.

Founding

The Consulate was inaugurated on 21 November 2008 by Foreign Minister of Germany

Frank-Walter Steinmeier Frank-Walter Steinmeier (; born 5 January 1956) is a German politician serving as President of Germany since 19 March 2017. He was previously Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2005 to 2009 and again from 2013 to 2017, as well as Vice Chan ...

in the presence of ambassador to India Bernd Mützelburg and Consul General Stefan Graf in rented premises located in the CBD of

; however, the post was not to begin processing visa and work permit applications till 2011. It was the first Consulate General to start operations in Bangalore. Bangalore was chosen because of the presence of large German investments in Karnataka like

Robert Bosch GmbH Robert Bosch GmbH (; ), commonly known as Bosch and stylized as BOSCH, is a German multinational engineering and technology company headquartered in Gerlingen, Germany. The company was founded by Robert Bosch in Stuttgart in 1886. Bosc ...

and the potential for more investment in the region. The new premises located in the intersection of St. Mark's Road and Residency Road was inaugurated on 22 June 2012 by German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle in the presence of Chief Secretary of Karnataka S. V. Ranganath and the then Consul General Ingo Karsten.

Services and activities

The Consulate General provides visa services to residents of

and

along with consular services to German nationals. In March 2012, the

German Academic Exchange Service The German Academic Exchange Service, or DAAD (german: Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst), was founded in 1925 and is the largest German support organisation in the field of international academic co-operation. Organisation ''DAAD'' is a ...

(DAAD) opened its fifth Indian office on the Consulate premises to promote academic and scientific knowledge transfer between Karnataka, Kerala and Germany. The office provides free counselling services for students and scholars interested in German education.

References

{{German diplomatic missions Diplomatic missions in India

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

Germany–India relations Organisations based in Bangalore 2008 establishments in Karnataka

Founding

Services and activities

See also

References