French President Macron shares ‘nice’ selfie with PM Modi, discusses AI, trade and infrastructure during bilateral talks | Today’s news
French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday shared a “nice” selfie with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who arrived in the French Mediterranean city last night to launch the ‘Bharat Innovates’ event.
According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), he held talks with Macron on a wide range of topics, including artificial intelligence, startups, trade, infrastructure, mobility and healthcare. The leaders also discussed several important regional and global events and exchanged views on key international issues, according to PTI.
An innovation plan, a plan to double annual bilateral trade over the next five years and a common framework for artificial intelligence were among the 13 key outcomes of wide-ranging discussions between Prime Minister Modi and President Macron on Sunday.
The two countries also finalized a declaration aimed at strengthening cooperation in the high-speed rail sector and signed a security agreement to protect classified information. In addition, they agreed to extend the reach of India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) by extending its availability to Paris Airport and the city of Nice.
“Another step to strengthen the India-France partnership! Prime Minister @narendramodi held bilateral talks with President @Emmanuel Macron where they reviewed progress on the India-France Special Global Strategic Partnership,” ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a post on X.
He added: “Leaders discussed areas such as innovation, trade and investment, sustainability, security, culture and people-to-people ties. The meeting resulted in several outcomes in the areas of innovation and AI, science and space, startups and fintech, trade and infrastructure, mobility and health, among others. The leaders also exchanged views on key international and regional issues.”
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What did Macron say?
Speaking alongside Prime Minister Modi at the inauguration of Bharat Innovates 2026, Macron emphasized that India’s emergence as a major global power has become a key pillar of France’s strategic, industrial and academic outlook for the 21st century.
“Our partnership has transformed and India has become a deep reality. We have to work to improve the situation, come up with more decarbonized energy and continue cooperation in research and observation so that we can have open science,” Macron said, according to ANI.
He also noted that in addition to cooperation through the International Solar Alliance, the two countries are exploring cooperation in the field of nuclear energy, including small modular reactors (SMRs), to promote clean energy production and strengthen energy security.
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“When it comes to climate and energy, France and India are innovating together to guarantee power, self-sufficiency and guarantee the promises of COP21. We are working together on projects today and tomorrow in technologies such as SMRs,” Macron said.
He also highlighted the importance of the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI), an initiative launched by PM Modi in 2019 to strengthen the resilience of infrastructure systems against climate and disaster-related risks.
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“We have also installed the International Solar Alliance, one of the main stakeholders at the world level, and the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI), which allows us to invest in many different countries and also what we can do to get into nuclear energy. We are working together today and tomorrow on projects in Datapower Technologies, such as SMR. Together we must continue to improve the situation, to get cooperative research and observation, so that more decarbonated energy can be open. science,” declared Macron.
Before leaving Delhi on Saturday, Prime Minister Modi mentioned that France occupies a special place in India’s strategic outlook and highlighted the steady growth of bilateral relations between the two countries.
Meanwhile, during his ongoing visit, the prime minister will also attend the G7 summit where he is expected to meet US President Donald Trump and several other global leaders.
