Members of the Indian diaspora greet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Paris on February 10, 2025. Photo: PMO via PTI
Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in France on a three-day visit during which he will co-chair an AI Action Summit with French President Emmanuel Macron and hold bilateral talks with him.
Representing the Global South in the Paris AI Action Summit, broadening consular and diplomatic ties, and nuclear research are some of the items on the agenda of Mr. Modi’s visit to France, an official statement said on Monday.
The official statement issued ahead of his departure for the two-nation tour covering France and the U.S. informed that he will be co-chairing the AI Action Summit, which will be held in Paris on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The AI summit is the third in a series of global initiatives on Artificial Intelligence after the AI Safety meet in the UK in 2023 and South Korea in 2024. The summit in Paris will focus on innovation, public interest, future of work and issues in AI governance. India is expected to represent the voice of the Global South on AI-related issues.
The bilateral component of the visit will begin after the AI summit and will include interaction with the India-France CEOs Forum where PM Modi and President Macron will lay down respective visions of economic cooperation. On 11 February evening, President Macron will host a dinner in honour of Prime Minister Modi.
During the visit the two sides will review the progress on 2047 Horizon Roadmap for India-France strategic partnership and also open newest Indian consulate in France in Marseille. Prime Minister Modi will visit the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) project which is a major international project on energy generation and nuclear research.
“I will also pay tribute to the Indian soldiers who laid down their lives during World War I and II at the Mazargues War Cemetery,” said PM Modi in the statement. The cemetery is maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission which looks after similar graves across Europe where Indian soldiers sacrificed themselves during the two World Wars of the 20th century.
President Macron was the chief guest at the 75th Republic Day celebrations of 2024 when he was welcomed in Jaipur and New Delhi. Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri during a briefing ahead of the visit informed that apart from the R-Day celebrations, during 2024 PM Modi and President Macron met on two other separate occasions including on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Italy as well as on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro. Following the visit to France, PM Modi is scheduled to take off for the United States. “In Washington DC, I look forward to meeting President Donald Trump, This visit will further cement India-USA friendship and boost ties in diverse sectors. I warmly recall working with President Trump during his first term and I am sure our talks will build on the ground covered then,” said Mr. Modi in a social media message on ‘X’ (formerly Twitter).
PM Modi reaches France
Mr. Modi arrived in France on a three-day visit during which he will co-chair an AI Action Summit with French President Emmanuel Macron and hold bilateral talks with him.
In the evening, Mr. Modi will attend a dinner hosted by President Macron at the Élysée Palace in honour of visiting Heads of Government and State.
The dinner is also likely to be attended by CEOs from the tech domain and a number of other distinguished invitees to the summit.
(With PTI inputs)
Published – February 10, 2025 12:43 pm IST