New Delhi, Jun 11 (PTI) Bolstering bilateral cooperation in defence, civil nuclear energy, innovation and critical technologies will top the agenda during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s high-level talks with French President Emmanuel Macron.
Modi will undertake a week-long visit to France and Slovakia from Saturday. In France, he will participate in the outreach sessions of the G7 Summit and hold bilateral meeting with Macron.
The prime minister is set to hold a series of bilateral meetings with a number of world leaders on the sidelines of the G7 summit. It is learnt that New Delhi and Washington are exploring the possibility of a meeting between PM Modi and US President Donald Trump. However, there is no clarity yet on it.
Ahead of the prime minister’s trip to France, diplomatic sources said several French companies are keenly looking at exploring the opportunity in the civil nuclear energy sector considering significant potentials following India’s enactment of the SHANTI (Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India) legislation.
India plans to increase its nuclear power capacity from the present 8.78 GW to 100 GW by 2047.
The sources said France is looking at taking forward the Multi-Role Fighter Aircraft (MRFA) project under the framework of ‘Make-in-India’ and that there should not be any difficulty in integrating Indian weapon systems into the jets.
Under the MRFA project, 18 Rafale will be supplied by French defence major Dassault Aviation in a fly away condition and the rest will be manufactured in India with around 50 per cent indigenous content.
The sources said as many as 12 new bilateral initiatives are likely to be rolled out between India and France during PM Modi’s visit.
The prime minister will first travel to the French port city of Nice for a bilateral meeting with President Macron on June 14.
The two leaders will jointly inaugurate Bharat Innovates, a three-day event being held as part of the India-France Year of Innovation to showcase Indian technology ventures from higher education institutions and centrally funded technical institutes.
From Nice, Modi will then travel to Slovakia for a state visit during June 14-16.
The prime minister will return to France to attend the outreach sessions of the G7 Summit from June 16-17.
In the final leg of the visit, Modi will visit Paris on June 18 for further bilateral engagements, and to attend the VivaTech Summit, Europe’s largest technology and startup event.
At a media briefing, Secretary (West) at the external affairs ministry, Sibi George said Modi’s focus at the G7 Summit will be to bring to forefront the priorities, concerns and developmental aspirations of the Global South.
“The discussions will broadly cover focus on the renewal of international partnerships and development solidarity, fostering shared and balanced growth. India’s regular participation at the G7 summits reflects the increasing recognition of India’s role,” he said.
It is expected that the West Asia conflict’s economic fallout including on energy supplies will figure in PM Modi’s bilateral talks with leaders attending the G7 Summit.
The Group of 7 (G7) brings together seven of the world’s most advanced economies: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. The European Union is also a member of the bloc.
On the bilateral segment, George said PM Modi will hold comprehensive discussions with President Macron, covering full range of areas of our partnership. PTI
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