French President Emmanuel Macron announced that Indian Prime Minister Modi will visit France as a state guest and attend the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Action Summit. “France will host the AI Summit, a summit for action, on February 11 and 12,” President Macron said in a speech at a meeting of French ambassadors. This summit will enable an international discussion on artificial intelligence. Prime Minister Modi is scheduled to arrive immediately after his state visit to our country, which will allow us to have dialogue with all the powers that be on AI, the US, China, key countries like India and the Gulf countries that have a role to play. It will be.
India will co-host the summit to be held at the Grand Palais in Paris. The summit follows a series of international gatherings on AI, including the AI Safety Summits held in Bletchley Park, UK (2023) and Seoul, South Korea (2024). The Indian government itself is committed to global AI initiatives, as evidenced by the hosting of the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) Summit 2023 in Delhi. Prime Minister Narendra Modi opened the summit by highlighting India’s role in AI development and governance.
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This is Prime Minister Modi’s second visit to France in the past year and a half. Prime Minister Modi will be the guest of honor at the Bastille Day Parade in July 2023, and his visit will mark the 25th anniversary of the strategic partnership between India and France. This visit was followed by a reciprocal visit by French President Macron as the guest of honor on India’s Republic Day in January 2024.
The next visit is expected to focus on concluding two major defense agreements between India and France. The multibillion-dollar deal includes the purchase of 26 Rafale-M fighter jets for the Indian Navy’s aircraft carriers and Scorpene-class conventional submarines. India and France have a strong defense partnership. In addition to purchasing Rafael fighter jets, the two sides are jointly developing fighter jet engines. France is committed to supporting ‘Make in India’ by transferring technology for various defense projects and strengthening India’s defense industrial capabilities. Countries are conducting exercises in all areas including Shakti, Varuna and Garuda.
From the Indo-Pacific to counter-terrorism, our two countries have cooperated. France played a key role in listing Pakistani terrorists at the UN and has been a vocal supporter of India’s presence in the reformed UN Security Council.
