Prime Minister Narendra Modi will pay an official visit to France and the United Arab Emirates from tomorrow to the 15th of July. In the first leg of his tour, Prime Minister will visit Paris at the invitation of President of France, Emmanuel Macron. He will be the Guest of Honour at the Bastille Day Parade on Friday, where a tri-services Indian armed forces contingent would be participating.
 
Briefing media in New Delhi this afternoon, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said the Prime Minister will meet France Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne and President of the French Senate Gérard Larcher tomorrow. In the evening, Mr Modi will interact with the Indian community which would be followed by a private dinner hosted by President Macron at Elysee Palace in honour of the Prime Minister.
 
Foreign Secretary said Mr Modi will hold delegation-level talks with President Macron on Friday. During the visit, he will also interact with CEOs of Indian and French companies, and prominent French personalities. Mr Kwatra said the visit of Prime Minister Modi to France would be rich in both substance and form, and it would set new benchmarks for the India-France strategic partnership in years ahead.
 
AIR correspondent reports that this year marks the 25th anniversary of the India – France Strategic Partnership. The Prime Minister’s visit will provide an opportunity to chart the course of the partnership for the future across diverse sectors such as strategic, cultural, scientific, academic and economic cooperation.
 
On the second leg of his visit, the Prime Minister will visit Abu Dhabi on the 15th of July. He will hold talks with the UAE President and Ruler of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The India-UAE Comprehensive Strategic Partnership has been steadily strengthening and the Prime Minister’s visit will be an opportunity to identify ways to take this forward in various domains such as energy, education, healthcare, food security, fintech, defence and culture. It will also be an opportunity to discuss cooperation on global issues, particularly, in the context of UAE’s Presidency of COP-28 of the UNFCCC and India’s G-20 Presidency in which UAE is a Special Invitee.