PM Modi accorded ceremonial reception in Paris

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is currently on the first leg of his three nation nine-day tour, was accorded a ceremonial welcome at the Elysee Palace in Paris on Friday.

The national anthems of both countries were played before the French army accorded him the guard of honour.

Chief of Defence Staff General Pierre de Villiers and French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius were also present at the occasion.

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was received by French Minister of State for Sports Thierry Braillart at the Orly International Airport here.

Indian Ambassador to France, Arun Singh, was also present at the airport to welcome the Prime Minister.

Prime Minister Modi is on a nine-day visit to France, Germany and Canada, with the objective of holding bilateral talks as well as people to people contacts with all three key global economic powerhouses.

Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar had briefed the media on the Prime Minister's schedule in France.

"Prime Minister Modi will have two back-to-back round tables: one with French CEOs discussing infrastructure as a theme, and the second will deal with defence technology as a theme," he said.

"Infrastructure is a high priority for the government and we believe that a lot of French companies have expertise in the sector. In defence, our relationship with France has had defence, space and nuclear as three important components. French companies are very experienced and we hope that they participate in the Make in India initiative in the defence sector," he added.

Jaishankar further said that Prime Minister Modi will meet the French President after speaking before the UNESCO.

"On April 11, the Prime Minister will travel to Toulouse, where he will tour the Airbus facility, before visiting French space company CNES before meeting the head of the local government. After that, he shall travel to Lille, where he will visit a World War I memorial, to bring out the role of Indian soldiers in the war. Later, he returns to Paris for a community reception before meeting former France president Sarkozy," he added.

Prime Minister Modi will reach the German city of Hannover on Sunday on the second leg of his visit. He will reach Canadian capital Ottawa on Tuesday on the final leg of his visit.