PM Modi, French President Macron discuss bilateral as well as global issues

Paris, May 5 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi met French President Emmanuel Macron here and the two leaders discussed at length about bilateral as well as global issues and agreed on an ambitious agenda for the next phase of the India-France Strategic Partnership.

Modi, who arrived here from Denmark on the final leg of his three-nation European tour, on Wednesday night held extensive talks with Macron, who was re-elected to the top post over a week back. “Delighted, as always, to meet my friend President @EmmanuelMacron. We talked at length about bilateral as well as global issues. India and France are proud developmental partners with our partnership spread across different sectors,” Modi tweeted in English and French languages along with a photograph of him and Macron hugging each other.

Earlier, the Prime Minister’s Office said that the meeting between the two leaders will add momentum to the India-France friendship. Macron held a tete-a-tete with Modi before the delegation-level talks at the Elysee Palace – the official residence of the French President. “PM @narendramodi and French President @EmmanuelMacron had a warm and detailed conversation. Agreed on an ambitious agenda for the next phase of the India-France Strategic Partnership. Underlined that the India-France partnership is a force for peace, progress and prosperity,” Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi tweeted.

“A meeting between two friends. An opportunity to translate the renewed mandate of President @EmmanuelMacron into a renewed momentum for the India-France Strategic partnership,” Bagchi had tweeted at the start of the meeting. Modi’s visit comes amid the Ukraine crisis, which has united much of Europe against Russia.

The two leaders are expected to have discussed how to ensure cessation of hostilities in Ukraine and mitigate the global economic consequences of this conflict. On Tuesday, Macron spoke with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and urged Moscow to rise to the level of its responsibility as a permanent member of the US Security Council by ending this devastating aggression, an Elysee statement said.

The Ukraine issue also figured prominently at the second India-Nordic summit attended by Prime Minister Modi and his counterparts from Finland, Iceland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark in Copenhagen on Wednesday. Modi has said that India believes no country would emerge victorious in the Russia-Ukraine war as all will suffer losses and there will be a “more serious” impact on developing and poor countries.

Another focus area of the talks was believed to be to unitedly deal with the challenges in the Indo-Pacific, amid China flexing muscles in the region. Soon after his arrival here, Modi had described France as one of India’s strongest partners, with both countries cooperating in diverse areas. Diplomatic sources said Modi’s meeting with Macron days after his election victory is highly symbolic. It sends a powerful signal that the two leaders want to make the Indo-French partnership a guiding principle of their foreign policy for the years to come, they said.

It’s also a demonstration of the level of personal chemistry between the two leaders, which gives impetus to our joint actions across all fields of cooperation, they said. Modi was among the first few world leaders to meet President Macron after his re-election last week. He had congratulated Macron after his re-election. His visit comes during the French presidency of the European Union. It also coincides with the 75 years of diplomatic relations between India and France.

This is Modi’s fifth visit to France after August 2019, June 2017, November 2015 and April 2015. Macron visited India in March 2018. Both leaders also met on the sidelines of the G20 Rome Summit in October 2021, G20 Osaka Summit in June 2019 and G20 Buenos Aires Summit in December 2018. India and France, which are strategic partners since 1998, have a multifaceted partnership across the spectrum in defence, civil nuclear, economy, space and maritime security, clean energy and environment, counter-terrorism, people-to-people ties.

India and France are founding members of the International Solar Alliance announced by Prime Minister Modi at UN Climate Change COP21 in November  2015. Both the countries enjoy a robust economic partnership with a bilateral trade of USD 7.86 billion (2020-21) and cumulative Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) of USD 9.83 billion since April 2000.

Over a thousand French businesses are present in India across sectors like defence, IT, consulting, engineering services and heavy industries. Over 150 Indian companies in France employ more than 7,000 people. A thriving Indian diaspora in France deepens the cultural connect between both countries. Modi, who arrived here from Copenhagen, held “productive talks” with his Danish counterpart Mette Frederiksen on Tuesday and also attended a business summit to discuss economic linkages.

Prime Minister Modi on Wednesday attended the second India-Nordic summit that primarily focused on post-pandemic economic recovery, climate change, renewable energy and the evolving global security scenario. On the sidelines of the summit in Copenhagen, Prime Minister Modi held separate bilateral meetings with his counterparts from Norway, Sweden, Iceland and Finland.