Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit France and Slovakia from 13 to 18 June. During this, PM Modi will visit the French cities of Nice, Evian and Paris and will also pay a state visit to Slovakia between June 14 and 16. The Prime Minister will hold bilateral talks with French President Emmanuel Macron, meet Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico and President Peter Pellegrini. After this he will participate in the G-7 summit held in France.
During the visit, PM Modi will also attend the ‘India Innovates’ program and Europe’s largest technology and startup event, ‘Vivtech Summit’. According to the Ministry of External Affairs, in the first phase of the tour, Prime Minister Modi will meet President Macron in Nice city of France on June 14. Both the leaders will comprehensively review India-France relations. During the visit, they will jointly inaugurate the ‘India Innovates’ program in which leading startups and venture capital funds from India, France and other countries will participate.
After this, Prime Minister Modi will be on a state visit to Slovakia from 14 to 16 June. This will be the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Slovakia since it became an independent country in 1993. Here, PM Modi will hold discussions with Prime Minister Robert Fico and President Peter Pellegrini. Special emphasis will be laid on increasing cooperation between the two countries in areas like trade, investment, automobile and railway manufacturing.
PM Modi will participate in Paris Vivatech Summit
On the third leg of the tour, the Prime Minister will attend the G-7 summit to be held in Evian, France on June 16 and 17. During the summit, he will discuss global issues with the leaders of G-7 countries, representatives of invited countries and international organizations. Several bilateral meetings are also scheduled during the summit. On the final leg of the tour, the Prime Minister will reach Paris on June 18, where he will attend the VivaTech Summit and address an event organized for the Indian community.
Effort to give new direction to relations with France
This visit of the Prime Minister is taking place at a time when India is trying to give a new direction to its relations with Europe. France is already a major strategic partner for India. Cooperation between the two countries has continuously increased in many areas like defence, space, nuclear energy and Indo-Pacific region. Recently, both the countries have elevated their relations to the level of ‘Special Global Strategic Partnership’. In this backdrop, the meeting between Macron and Modi is being considered an important step towards further strengthening this partnership.
Slovakia, part of the broader European strategy
The visit to Slovakia is also considered part of India’s broader European strategy. Instead of focusing only on major countries like France, Germany and the UK, India is now emphasizing on better economic and industrial cooperation with the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. Slovakia’s expertise in automobile and railway manufacturing is considered particularly valuable to India.
Indication of India’s growing global role
Prime Minister Modi’s presence at the G-7 summit is an indication of India’s growing global role. Although India is not a member of the G-7, it has been invited to the summit continuously over the years, underscoring its importance in global economic and strategic affairs. The main topics of this summit will include Artificial Intelligence (AI), global economic development and new international partnerships, areas where India wants to further strengthen its role.
Opportunity to create new technology partnerships
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister’s participation in programs like ‘India Innovates’ and VivaTech aims to establish India as a leading hub for global innovation, digital transformation and startup ecosystem. The government believes that this can open up opportunities for Indian startups to gain international investment and create new technology partnerships. Overall, this visit is more than just diplomatic meetings; Its focus is on strategic partnerships, investments, technology, artificial intelligence, startups and giving new impetus to India’s long-term relations with Europe.
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