Rome/New Delhi, Oct 30 (UNI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday held bilateral talks with French President Emmanuel Macron, during which the two sides reaffirmed their commitment to cooperate in the Indo-Pacific and to find new and innovative ways to contribute towards a free, open and rules-based order in the region.
In their talks on the sidelines of the 16th G20 Summit in Rome, PM Modi also invited the French President to visit India at the earliest opportunity.
The two also reaffirmed their commitment to the Strategic Partnership and discussed global and regional developments.
Asked if the AUKUS issue, or the trilateral partnership between Australia, the UK and US, had figured in the meeting, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said that the topic came up, “but very tangentially, it was not a major topic”. He also said there was no discussion on the Quad, during the discussions, in reference to France having evinced interest in the grouping.
In a tweet, the Prime Minister said:
“Delighted to meet my friend, President @EmmanuelMacron in Rome. Our talks revolved around enhancing cooperation in diverse areas and boosting people-to-people relations.”
An MEA statement said: "Prime Minister also welcomed the European Union’s Indo-Pacific Strategy, released in September 2021, and thanked the French President for France’s leadership role in the same. The two leaders also reaffirmed their commitment to cooperate in the Indo-Pacific and to find new and innovative ways to contribute towards a free, open and rules-based order in the region."
The two leaders expressed satisfaction at the state of the wide-ranging India-France Strategic Partnership.
The two leaders discussed the forthcoming COP26 and the need to focus on issues of climate finance.
The Prime Minister’s Office in a tweet said “India and France are cooperating extensively in various sectors. Today’s talks will add momentum to the bilateral ties between the two nations.”
Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi in a tweet said the two leaders "Discussed India-France cooperation on various subjects and reaffirmed their commitment to the Strategic Partnership. Also discussed global and regional developments.”
UNI/RN