Germany’s Merz pledges to fast track India-EU trade deal during first official Asia visit

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s first visit to Asia has raised India’s hopes for a long-awaited trade pact with the European Union as Berlin pushes for deeper engagement with South Asia amid heightened global tensions. Merz began his two-day visit to India on Monday by paying homage to India’s founding father Mahatma Gandhi at his ashram, or place of meditation, in Ahmedabad before joining counterpart Narendra Modi at a traditional kite festival, where the two flew kites together from an...