Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron held a part of their bilateral discussions aboard the French presidential aircraft while traveling from Paris to Marseille, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said. He described it as “an exceptional gesture by President Macron,” reflecting ‘deep personal trust’ and ‘remarkable confidence’ between the two leaders.
“You can say India-France ties literally touched new heights,” Misri said.
The two leaders discussed key geopolitical developments in Europe, West Asia, and the Indo-Pacific, along with global and regional issues, Misri informed while briefing the media in France.
Earlier on Tuesday, Modi and Macron co-chaired the AI Action Summit in Paris, attended the India-France CEO’s Forum, and later flew to Marseille together. While some discussions took place onboard the flight, others continued after their arrival in the French port city.
“The discussion covered an entire gamut of our deep and diverse strategic partnership,” Misri said, adding that bilateral cooperation in defence, space, civil nuclear energy, health, and people-to-people ties was reviewed. Artificial Intelligence (AI) was a “major area” of discussion between the two sides, he noted.
On trilateral cooperation, Misri said, “To look at delivering the project in the whole host of the area in third countries. Financial support, tech support. Choice of project driven by host country. We feel it is important to provide choices to countries with regard to development.”
Speaking about the Letter of Intent on Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and Advanced Modular Reactors (AMRs), he highlighted progress in India-France cooperation in nuclear energy.
“We’ve been discussing, for instance, cooperation in the Jaitapur nuclear power project for some time. It has multiple aspects related to technology, finance, also to issues related to civil liability,” Misri said.
While SMRs and AMRs have emerged as newer areas of engagement, their progress has been swift. “The idea on this particular front is to start cooperation because this is a technology that is still in its initial stages, even in countries which have been working on it for some time,” he said.
India and France aim to collaborate on co-designing, co-developing, and co-producing these reactors. “We feel this will allow us to tackle complications faced in other conventional projects,” Misri added.
Earlier on Wednesday, Modi and his French counterpart inaugurated the Indian Consulate, in Marseille, France. The Prime Minister said in a post on ‘X’, “A historic moment in Marseille! The President @EmmanuelMacron and I inaugurated the Indian Consulate in this vibrant city, marking a new chapter in India-France relations. This Consulate will serve as a vital bridge to strengthen our cultural, economic and human ties. The links between Marseille and India are well known.”
On the historical relevance of the city, PM addded, “During the First World War, this city was an important base for Indian troops. It is also closely linked to Veer Savarkar. On the occasion of this special inauguration, I thank the French Government and congratulate the Indian diaspora.”
