PM Narendra Modi will visit France and UAE from July 13-15

To take forward cooperation with both countries...

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit France and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from July 13-15 to take forward cooperation with both countries in areas ranging from defence and security to energy.

Invitation of President Emmanuel Macron, Modi will visit France from July 13-14, to be the guest of honour at the Bastille Day Parade July 14.

An Indian tri-services contingent will participate in the event.

An invitation to be the chief guest at the military parade is considered a signal honour, and the last foreign leader to be invited as a dignitary to the occasion was former US president Donald Trump in 2017.

Macron and Modi will hold formal talks, and the French president will host a state banquet and a private dinner for the prime minister, the external affairs ministry said Modi is also scheduled to meet his French counterpart Élisabeth Borne and the presidents of the Senate and the National Assembly.

He will also interact with the Indian diaspora in France, CEOs of Indian and French companies, and prominent French personalities.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the India-France strategic partnership, and the external affairs ministry said Modi’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”.

From France, Modi will travel to Abu Dhabi in the UAE on July 15, and hold talks with President of the UAE and ruler of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

The India-UAE comprehensive strategic partnership has been “steadily strengthening” and Modi’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”, the ministry said.

The visit will also be an opportunity to discuss cooperation on global issues, particularly in the context of the UAE’s presidency of COP28 and India’s G20 presidency, in which the UAE is a guest country.