The Indian Express (Delhi Edition)

Defence, AI, Ukraine: PM holds talks with Macron, Sunak, Meloni, Kishida

PRIME MINISTER Narendra Modi met French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, both facing elections at home, on Friday on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Apulia, Italy.

Macron has called for snap polls after his party faced a drubbing in the European Parliament elections and Sunak also called for early polls on July 4 to battle his sagging fortunes after 14year rule by the Conservati­ves.

In their meetings, the two leaders congratula­ted Modi for his win in the Lok Sabha elections. The Ministry of External Affairs said that the Prime Minister “thanked President Macron for his warm wishes on assuming office for the third consecutiv­e term”, and “PM Sunak congratula­ted PM on his historic third consecutiv­e term”.

“Modi extended his best wishes to the people of the United Kingdom as they prepare for general elections next month,” the MEA statement said.

In a post on X, Modi said he had “an excellent meeting” with “my friend President” Macron.

“This is our fourth meeting in one year, indicating the priority we accord to strong Indiafrenc­h ties. Our talks covered numerous subjects such as defence, security, technology, AI, Blue Economy and more. We also discussed how to encourage innovation and research among the youth. I conveyed my best wishes to him on the hosting of the Paris Olympics, which begins next month.”

On his meeting with Macron, the MEA statement said the two leaders reviewed India-france bilateral relations, “focusing on the ‘Horizon 2047’ Roadmap and the Indo-pacific Roadmap”.

“Discussion­s included cooperatio­n in defence, nuclear, space, education, climate action, digital public infrastruc­ture, connectivi­ty and cultural initiative­s such as the National Museum partnershi­p and enhancing people-to-people ties. They agreed to further intensify strategic defence cooperatio­n with increased focus on ‘Make in India’,” the statement said.

These ideas are carried forward from Macron’s visit to India in January this year for the Republic Day celebratio­ns and Modi’s visit to France in July last year, when he had attended the Bastille Day celebratio­ns.

The MEA statement said they also agreed to expand cooperatio­n in the realms of “AI, critical and emerging technologi­es, energy and sports, while working closely in the context of the forthcomin­g AI Summit and United Nations Oceans Conference, both to be hosted in France in 2025”.

The two leaders also exchanged views on key global and regional issues, it said, indicating that discussion­s took place about the Russia-ukraine war and the Israel-hamas conflict as well.

The MEA said they emphasised that a “strong and trusted Strategic Partnershi­p between India and France is crucial for a stable and prosperous global order and agreed to work closely to make it scale greater heights”.

On Modi’s meeting with Sunak, the MEA said, “The two leaders reaffirmed the shared commitment of both countries to further strengthen bilateral relations… discussed the implementa­tion of the Roadmap 2030 and expressed happiness on progress in all areas of the Comprehens­ive Strategic Partnershi­p including regular high level political consultati­ons, defence and security, trade and economic collaborat­ion, critical and high technology sectors and people-to-people ties.”

On the Free Trade Agreement, the MEA said, “They also expressed satisfacti­on with the progress made in the Free Trade Agreement negotiatio­ns between the two countries. Both leaders also discussed regional and multilater­al matters of mutual interest.”

Modi said it was “a delight” to meets unak.“i reiterated my commitment­to further strengthen the India-uk Comprehens­ive Strategic Partnershi­p in the third term of the NDA Government. There is great scope to deep en ties in sectors like semiconduc­tors, technology and trade. We also talked about further cementing ties in the defence sector.”

According to a statement from 10, Downing Street, the British Prime Minister’ s office ,“They discussed their mutual commitment to the security and prosperity of both countries and saluted the strength of the relationsh­ip.”

During his meeting with Italian counterpar­t Georgia Meloni, Modi held a discussion on defence cooperatio­n, cultural ties and green energy.

After meeting his counterpar­t from Japan, Fumio Kishida, PM Modi posted on X, “Strong ties between India and Japan are important for a peaceful, secure and prosperous Indo-pacific.”