PM Modi to Visit France, Co-Chair AI Summit with French President Emmanuel Macron; US Visit Follows
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be on a three-day visit to France starting Monday to attend the AI Action Summit and hold talks with the President of France, Emmanuel Macron. Mr. Modi will co-chair the summit alongside the French president in Paris. Briefing the media in New Delhi this afternoon, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said Mr. Modi will reach Paris on Monday evening. Mr. Modi will attend a dinner hosted by the French President at the Élysée Palace in honour of visiting heads of government and heads of state. The dinner is also likely to be attended by a large number of CEOs from the tech domain and a number of other distinguished invitees to the summit.
Mr. Misri said that the Prime Minister will co-chair the AI Action Summit along with President Macron on Tuesday. Both leaders will also hold bilateral talks and address the India-France CEOs Forum. In the evening, they will travel to Marseille, and President Macron will also host a dinner in honour of Prime Minister Modi. On Wednesday, the leaders will visit the war cemetery and pay tribute to Indian soldiers of World War I. The two leaders will jointly inaugurate the newest Consulate General of India in Marseille.
On the second leg of his two-nation tour, Prime Minister Modi will visit the US on the 12th and 13th of this month. The Foreign Secretary said this will be the first visit of the Prime Minister to the US since the inauguration of the second presidential term of US President Donald Trump. Prime Minister Modi will hold bilateral talks with the US President. The foreign secretary pointed out that Prime Minister Modi would be among the first few world leaders to visit the United States following the inauguration of US President Trump. He added that the fact that the prime minister has been invited to visit the US within barely three weeks of the new administration taking office shows the importance of the India-US partnership.
On the deportation of illegal Indian immigrants from the US, the Foreign Secretary said it is a valid issue to raise the matter of mistreatment of Indian deportees. He said India continues to emphasise to US authorities that there should be no mistreatment of deportees. He stressed that action needs to be taken across the system against the underlying ecosystem that thrives on promoting illegal immigration.
Regarding the use of military planes for deporting illegal Indian immigrants from the US, Mr. Misri informed that the deportation that occurred the day before yesterday is somewhat different compared to flights that have been taking place for many years and is of a slightly different nature. He added that the US system itself described it as a national security operation, and perhaps this is one of the reasons why a military aircraft was used.
