PM Modi arrives in France to attend G-7 Summit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday arrived in the southwestern French city of Biarritz to attend the 45th G-7 Summit, where India has been invited as a partner country.

Modi is expected to speak during sessions on environment, climate, oceans, and digital transformation, besides also holding bilaterals with leaders of other countries participating in the two-day summit being held here.

The summit holds significance from India's perspective particularly for the fact that the Kashmir issue is expected to come up during Modi's interaction with the leaders of the member countries, particularly US President Donald Trump. The same was also conveyed recently by a senior official from the Trump administration.

India is not a member country of the G-7, and the invitation to participate in the summit was extended by France. During an "excellent round" of discussions with French President Emmanuel Macron, Modi had conveyed that New Delhi stands with Paris on all agendas that the European country is pursuing in the summit.

The G-7 summit is followed by Modi's state visit to the UAE, where he received the Order of Zayed -- the highest civilian order of the country, and Bahrain, where he received the 'King Hamad Order of the Renaissance' as a mark of appreciation for his efforts to boost bilateral ties between the countries.