New Delhi, Feb 26 (PTI) Former German chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday hailed the economic reforms initiated by ex-prime minister late Manmohan Singh, and said they helped take India on a 30-year economic growth path.

She also said that India has tremendous potential for economic development.

Delivering the inaugural Dr Manmohan Singh Memorial Lecture here, Merkel said that being the world's most populous country, India reported a more than 5 per cent growth rate in the past few years.

She also lauded the free trade agreement (FTA) inked between India and the European Union recently, and recalled that she too had some contributions to it.

Noting that the European Union is the second-largest global economic power, Merkel said India has a younger population, which gives it a demographic advantage.

Merkel also said she was pleased to see that an FTA between the EU and India could be announced after long negotiations.

"The free trade agreement with the European Union makes me happy, because I had a part to play in it," she said.

“India does have great potential and a great future," she said, highlighting the demographic advantage it has.

Merkel also said the relations between India and Germany could be extended as both share cultural relations.

She, however, did not dwell on the political front, saying, "I don't really want to intervene in what is happening between the two countries at the political level.” Merkel said that when Manmohan Singh took office in 2004, the gross domestic product per capita in India was USD 624, but when he left office in 2014, it was USD 1,553, an increase of 2.5 times.

“I think these numbers speak for themselves,” she said.

“I was impressed by the sheer size of the country, which has a 5,000-year history, and 22 official languages recognised by the Constitution," Merkel added.

Noting that the unity of a country grows from its diversity, she said "tolerance and respect are essential prerequisites for peaceful development”.

Merkel recalled that as finance minister from 1991 to 1996, after India was hit by a severe financial crisis, Manmohan Singh led "courageous reforms" when India was a strictly regulated economy.

She said that Singh liberalised foreign exchange, dismantled bureaucratic red tape and opened the Indian market for foreign investors.

"This allowed him to stabilise the finances. These reforms made it possible for India to look at almost 30 years of economic growth," she noted.

The former German chancellor also recalled how she expressed her disappointment with India not accepting the binding CO2 emissions after the Kyoto Protocol, with Manmohan Singh saying "Indian Parliament would never accept binding CO2 reductions".

"I was not very happy about that," she said.

Merkel also recalled Singh's inspiring life, from his humble beginnings to leading the country. PTI SKC SKC ARI ARI

Free trade agreement strengthens market access and builds on earlier economic reforms enabling sustained growth potential. Economic reforms liberalised foreign exchange, dismantled bureaucratic restrictions and opened the Indian market to foreign investors, stabilising public finances and enabling prolonged economic growth. The recently concluded free trade agreement with the European Union is presented as a further deepening of market integration that builds on those reforms and enhances bilateral market access.