Prime Minister (PM) of India, Narendra Modi made an official visit to France and the United States of America (USA) to further strengthen and develop bilateral relations.
Highlights of PM Modi’s Visit to France:
PM Narendra Modi paid a three-day visit to France from February 10 to 12, 2025, at the invitation of Emmanuel Macron, President of France. This was PM Modi’s 6th visit to France.
i.PM Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron, jointly opened the new Consulate General of India in Marseille, France.
- The Consulate will oversee four regions in the South of France: Provence Alpes Côte d’Azur, Corsica, Occitanie, and Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes.
ii.They visited the Mazargues War Cemetery in Marseille, France.
iii.Both leaders also visited the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) in Cadarache, France.
- This was the first visit by any Head of State or Government to ITER, one of the world’s most ambitious fusion energy projects. India has been a key member of the ITER project.
AI Action Summit :
On 11 February 2025, PM Narendra Modi and Emmanuel Macron,President of France, led the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Action Summit in Paris, France. During the summit, PM Modi announced that India will host the next AI summit in 2026.
- The AI action summit held from February 10-11, 2025 was featured discussions on critical themes, including greater access to AI infrastructure to ensure inclusion, the responsible use of AI, AI for public interest, making AI more diverse and sustainable, and ensuring safe and trusted governance of AI.
- The summit also focused on advancing the work started at the previous AI summits held in Bletchley Park, the United Kingdom (UK) in 2023 and Seoul, South Korea in 2024.
- PM Narendra Modi met with the President of Estonia, Alar Karis at the AI Action Summit in Paris. This was their first meeting.The leaders emphasized the importance of the India-Estonia partnership, especially in the context of the broader India-European Union (EU)strategic relationship.
Highlights of AI Action Summit:
i.At the AI Action Summit, representatives from 58 countries signed a joint statement titled “Inclusive and Sustainable Artificial Intelligence for People and the Planet”. This is the third such statement made internationally.
- The statement emphasizes the importance of developing AI that respects human rights, is ethical, safe, and trustworthy
- Key Signatories: Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the New Zealand (NZ) , Poland, Singapore, South Africa (SA), Republic of Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, the Netherlands, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Ukraine, Vatican. Also include European Union(EU) and African Union Commission(AUC).
ii.Founding members have launched a major ‘Public Interest AI Platform and Incubator’. This initiative aims to bring together public and private efforts in the field of AI, reduce fragmentation, and address digital gaps.
- The Public Interest AI Initiative will focus on supporting digital public goods, technical assistance, and capacity-building projects.
- The aim is to create a trustworthy AI ecosystem that benefits everyone and advances the public good.
iii.The InvestAI initiative will supplement a Euro 150 billion investment pledge from the private sector as part of the EU AI Champions Initiative launched at the AI Action Summit.
- The initiative, led by venture capitalist firm General Catalyst Partners, the United States of America(USA).
iv.The French President launched ‘Current AI’ with an initial USD 400 million (Euro 387 million) investment from the French government, philanthropists, and industry partners.
Note: The first rules under the European Union’s Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act) came into effect on February 2, 2025.
2nd India-France AI Policy Roundtable:
The 2nd India-France AI Policy Roundtable was organized at the Sciences Po Paris university campus in Paris, as an official side event of the AI Action Summit 2025.
i.It was jointly hosted by the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA) to the Government of India,(GoI) the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, Karnataka, the IndiaAI Mission under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) , and Sciences Po, Public University in Paris.
ii.The roundtable was co-chaired by Amit A Shukla, joint secretary, cyber diplomacy(CD) division, Ministry of External Affairs(MEA), and Henri Verdier, Ambassador for digital affairs, French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs.
14th India-France CEOs Forum:
PM Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron jointly addressed the 14th India-France Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) Forum in Paris.
i.Union Minister Subrahmanyam (S) Jaishankar, Ministry of External Affairs, (MEA), French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noël Barrot, and French Minister of the Economy, Finance, and Digital Sovereignty Eric Lombard also addressed the forum.
ii.The forum brought together CEOs from various industries, focusing on sectors such as defense, aerospace, technology, infrastructure, advanced manufacturing, AI, life sciences, wellness, lifestyle, and food.
iii.In his address, PM Modi highlighted that the insurance sector of India is now open to 100% Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), and the civil nuclear energy sector allows private participation, especially in Small Modular Reactor (SMR) and Advanced Modular Reactor (AMR) technologies.
India Offers Indigenous Pinaka Rocket Systems to France
India has officially offered its Pinaka multi-launch artillery rocket systems to France, developed by the New Delhi(Delhi) based Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
- This comes as India is also finalizing the purchase of 26 Rafale-Marine fighters from France and collaborating on building three more Scorpene submarines.
i.The Pinaka system includes various types of rockets, such as those with a 45- kilometres (km) extended range and 75-km guided extended range. India plans to further improve these rockets to reach ranges of 120 km and eventually 300 km.
ii.India & France also agreed to launch a Research and Development (R&D) framework for cooperation in defense technologies between France’s Direction Générale de l’Armement (French Directorate General of Armaments) DGA and India’s DRDO.
PM Modi Gifts Eco-Friendly Alphabet Set and Dokra Artwork During his Visit to France
i.During his visit to France PM Narendra Modi presented a piece of Dokra artwork to French President Emmanuel Macron.
- Dokra is an ancient art form of metal casting that involves using the lost-wax technique, which is known for creating unique, intricate designs in non-ferrous metals.
ii.PM Narendra Modi also gifted an eco-friendly wooden alphabet set to Mirabel Rose Vance, the daughter of Vice President of the United States of America (USA) JD Vance.
Key Outcomes:
i.PM Modi and the French President Emmanuel Macron held discussions to strengthen cooperation in several areas, including defense, space, civil nuclear energy, and people-to-people relations.
- One of the key outcomes was France’s decision to host 10 Indian startups at Station F, a prominent startup incubator, a significant step forward in enhancing India-France business and technology collaborations.
- Both leaders agreed to expand Unified Payment Interface (UPI’s) presence in France, creating new opportunities for its integration.
- Artificial Intelligence (AI) also took center stage, with both countries agreeing to designate 2026 as the “India-France Year of Innovation.
ii.India’s Department of Science and Technology (DST) under the Ministry of Science and Technology (MoS&T) and France’s National Institute for Research in Computer Science and Automation (INRIA) also signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) to establish the Indo-French Center for Digital sciences.
iii.India and France also renewed their cooperation agreement between the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) under the PM’s Office of the Government of India(GoI) and France’s Commissariat for Atomic Energy and Alternative Energies (CEA) through the Global Centre for Nuclear Energy Partnership (GCNEP).
iv.In the field of civil nuclear energy, both leaders welcomed the first meeting of a Special Task Force focused on Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and Advanced Modular Reactors (AMRs) and agreed to collaborate on designing and producing these reactors.
Highlights of PM Narendra Modi’s visit to USA :
On 13 February 2025, PM Narendra Modi was on an official visit to the United States of America (USA). This was PM Modi’s 10th visit to the USA as PM and 4th with Trump as President.
- USA President Trump gave PM Modi a signed copy of his book ‘Our Journey Together’ during their meeting at the White House, USA.
Initiatives Launched:
i.PM Narendra Modi and USA President Donald Trump launched a new initiative called the ‘Autonomous Systems Industry Alliance (ASIA)’.
- This initiative aims to strengthen industry partnerships and production in the Indo-Pacific region, focusing on collaboration between India and the U.S. in underwater domain awareness technologies.
ii.They also launched a new initiative called the “U.S.-India COMPACT” (Catalyzing Opportunities for Military Partnership, Accelerated Commerce & Technology) to drive progress in military partnerships, commerce, and technology.
SpaceX CEO Gifts PM Modi Heatshield Tile from Starship Test Flight
PM Modi met with Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, at the Blair House in Washington, the USA.
i.Elon Musk gave PM Modi a unique gift during their meeting: a heatshield tile from SpaceX’s Starship test flight 5, which took place in October 2024.
ii.The tile was inscribed with the date “Starship Flight Test 5. October 13, 2024.” These hexagonal ceramic tiles are designed to shield the spacecraft from extreme heat as it re-enters Earth’s atmosphere.
Key Outcomes:
i.USA President Trump announced that the USA will supply F-35 stealth fighter jets to India, allowing the country to join a select group of nations with advanced stealth aircraft.
ii.India and the USA announced plans to sign a trade agreement by the end of 2025, aiming to boost bilateral trade to USD 500 billion by 2030.
About France:
President – Emmanuel Macron
Capital -Paris
Currency – Euro
