India-France ties not limited to bilateral context: Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that ties between India and France are not limited to the bilateral context alone but extend to regional and global issues as well.

He said this when visiting French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian called on him here.

"The Prime Minister said the significance of India-France Strategic Partnership is not limited to the bilateral context but acts as a force for peace and stability in the regional and global context as well," the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said in a statement.

According to the statement, Le Drian briefed the Prime Minister on recent developments in the bilateral relationship as follow-up to the Prime Minister's visit to France in June this year.

Modi visited France in 2015, his first trip to a European country in his current capacity, and again this year when he met new French President Emmanuel Macron for the first time.

Le Drian arrived here on Thursday on a four-day visit to India to lay the groundwork for Macron's visit to India in early 2018 for the launch ceremony of the India-initiated International Solar Alliance.

According to the PMO statement, Modi "appreciated the contribution of Le Drian to the growing India-France engagement, in his current role as well as in his earlier role as the Defence Minister of France".

"The Prime Minister also said that he looks forward to receiving President Macron in India at his earliest convenience," it said.

Earlier in the day, Le Drian held delegation-level talk with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, during the course of which both sides agreed to cooperate on the security architecture of the Indian Ocean region.

The visiting dignitary also met Minister of State for New and Renewable Energy Ram Kumar Singh.

--IANS

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