PM Modi to meet new French President Emmanuel Macron on June 3

Not just Germany, Spain and Russia, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also visit France in a hectic weeklong tour across Europe from 29 May to 3 June.

While the PM's visits to Berlin, Madrid and St Petersburg had been in the works for over a month and dates already made public, the Ministry of External Affairs on Wednesday announced the itinerary of the PM's visit to Paris. It is significant that the PM's official visit to France will come within a month of the election of new French President Emmanuel Macron.

In a statement, the MEA said that the PM will be in Paris on 2-3 June. It said that Modi will hold official talks with the 39-year-old French President on 3 June to "discuss issues of mutual interest with a view to further strengthen India-France strategic ties."

The PM will begin his European tour with talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin on 29 May. The two will hold the fourth India-Germany Intergovernmental consultations on 30 May. The two leaders will also jointly address a business event where top industrialists from both countries would be present.

From Berlin, the PM would travel to Spain on 30 May. He will meet Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on 31 May. He would also be calling on King Felipe VI of Spain, and have a roundtable interaction with Spanish business leaders who are keen to invest in India.

The PM will be in Russia on 1-2 June. On 1 June, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Modi will hold the 18th India-Russia Annual Summit in St Petersburg. Subsequent to the summit, the PM will participate in the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on 2 June as the guest of honour.

The PM is also scheduled to be at Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit meeting in Astana, Kazakhstan, on 8 and 9 June. It is, however, likely that he might return home before leaving for Central Asia. At Astana Summit, India and Pakistan are set to be inducted as the seventh and eighth members of the grouping that is led by China and Russia.

Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif is also scheduled to attend the Summit. Modi and Sharif will be at the same venue for the first time in the last several months, but there is little official word from either side on a possible meeting.