Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s upcoming visit to France to co-chair the AI Action Summit next week also includes significant bilateral discussions aimed at bolstering a strategic partnership that Paris views as resilient in the face of challenges and ambitious in seizing opportunities.
PM Modi will be in France from February 10 to 12 to co-chair an Artificial Intelligence summit with French President Emmanuel Macron.
“The Prime Minister will arrive in Paris on the evening of February 10. He will attend a dinner hosted by President Macron at the Elysee Palace in honor of the visiting heads of government and state. The dinner is also likely to be attended by numerous CEOs from the tech sector and other distinguished invitees,” Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri briefed the media ahead of the visit.
On February 11, PM Modi will co-chair the third edition of the AI Action Summit, previously hosted by the United Kingdom in 2023 and South Korea in 2024.
Following the summit, there will be significant bilateral engagements. The two leaders last met in November on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro—their third meeting in 2024 after President Macron’s visit to India for the Republic Day celebrations in January and their meeting on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Italy in June.
Misri revealed that PM Modi and President Macron will address the India-France CEOs Forum and hold discussions in both restricted and delegation-level formats.
“This visit will also take PM Modi outside Paris as he travels to Marseille with President Macron on the evening of February 11. That evening, President Macron will host a dinner in honor of the Prime Minister. On the morning of February 12, the two leaders will visit the Mazargues War Cemetery, maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, to pay tribute to Indian soldiers who sacrificed their lives during World War I. Additionally, PM Modi and President Macron will jointly inaugurate the newest Consulate General of India in Marseille,” the Foreign Secretary mentioned.
The opening of the new Consulate General, announced by PM Modi during his 2023 France visit, is expected to enhance people-to-people ties between India and France and strengthen commercial relations in the South of France, as Marseille is located at the crossroads of global shipping routes and is positioned as the natural gateway to Southern Europe.
India’s partnership with France has remained steady despite recent global turbulence and challenges. PM Modi and President Macron have laid out a detailed vision, looking ahead to 2047 and beyond, focusing on building a secure and peaceful Indo-Pacific region and addressing global challenges of climate change, clean energy, health, food security, poverty, and development.
