Evian [France], June 16 (ANI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to France began with extensive discussions with French President Emmanuel Macron in Nice covering key areas of bilateral cooperation, including technology, innovation, culture, economy and defence, French Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson Pascal Confavreux said on Tuesday.
Speaking to ANI on the sidelines of the G7 Leaders’ Meeting in Évian-les-Bains, Confavreux said PM Modi’s engagement with the French leadership started ahead of the summit with a day-long interaction with Macron aimed at strengthening the multidimensional India-France partnership.
“PM Modi, at present, is attending the G7 Leaders’ Meeting in Evian. But the visit started as early as Sunday with an important one day that was spent together by President Macron and PM Modi in Nice, where they addressed different aspects of the bilateral relationship, which is very multidimensional, including innovation and tech, including culture, and economics as well as defence and military,” he told ANI.
He noted that PM Modi is participating in the G7 session focused on global economic imbalances, a key priority under France’s presidency of the grouping.
“PM Modi is taking part in the session of the G7 Leaders’ Meeting which addresses the global economic imbalances in the world, something which is at the heart of the agenda of the French Presidency of the G7 this year,” Confavreux said.
PM Modi had arrived in the French city earlier on Tuesday to attend the high-profile gathering, following an official invitation from the French President. This special invitation marks India’s 13th appearance at the summit as a partner nation, alongside being the seventh consecutive time the Prime Minister is participating in the global forum.
The French spokesperson also welcomed PM Modi’s participation in the VivaTech Summit, describing it as one of the world’s leading technology gatherings.
“We are very happy that he keeps participating in the VivaTech Summit, which is an extremely important summit of big tech, happening in France, where we invite French CEOs and also CEOs from all over the world,” he added.
Addressing the situation in West Asia, Confavreux said the security of the Strait of Hormuz remains a major concern for the international community and featured prominently in discussions surrounding the G7 summit.
“The situation in Hormuz is something that is affecting all the countries in the world. That’s why we have been calling for an agreement as soon as possible. It has been struck on Sunday. We will do everything we can to make it a reality and to make it last,” he said.
He further said France was exploring measures to ensure freedom of navigation through the strategically vital waterway, including the possible deployment of multinational defensive missions.
“We have put on the grounds the possibility of deployment of multinational missions, strictly defensive, but recreating some trust for establishing the freedom of the traffic in the Strait of Hormuz and also addressing the key problem – the Iranian nuclear programme and the Iranian proxies in the region,” Confavreux said. (ANI)