India, Germany share strong commercial links: Minister

New Delhi, March 18 (IANS) Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju Wednesday said that trade and commerce are the major relations between India and Germany in the globalised world.

"Trade and commerce are the new parameters through which relations between two countries are now judged. India and Germany share a strong trade and commercial link," the minister said on the sidelines of an industry event here.

The Lufthansa Cargo event, which was held at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport here, saw the minister along with Lufthansa Cargo’s board member for product and sales, Alexis von Hoensbroech, naming an MD-11 freighter aircraft as ‘Namaste India.’

The naming ceremony was held at the airport with dancers and musicians playing Indian folk songs. The aircraft was named by observing Indian customs and traditions.

In keeping with traditional ceremony, the aircraft was sprinkled with coconut water by an Indian priest.

The airline said the naming of the aircraft symbolised the significance of India as one of the most important markets for global air freight services.

"This naming of the aircraft symbolises the importance India holds for us as a leading market. Earlier, we had named another aircraft in Japan," Hoensbroech told IANS.

"The ‘Namaste India’ greeting also illustrates the special bond between Lufthansa Cargo and India," Hoensbroech added.

The company official added that "Namaste India" is now the eighth Lufthansa Cargo aircraft to be renamed in the last few months.

According to the company, the names of the aircraft are based on the winning idea of an open creative competition organised by Lufthansa Cargo to rename their entire fleet in 2013.

"More than 40,000 potential aeroplane names were received by Lufthansa Cargo within six weeks, and the jury decided on the idea of ‘say hello around the world’. All the freight aircraft in the Lufthansa Cargo fleet are now being changed to greetings in around 20 languages," the company said.

Currently, Lufthansa Cargo offers 59 weekly flights between India and Europe, including the services of Lufthansa Passenger Airlines and Austrian Airlines.