Prime Minister Modi also held a meeting with the French Prime Minister, Edouard Philippe, today.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday addressed the Indian community at the UNESCO headquarters in France, highlighting the strong Indo-French bond.
He began by noting the fact that France’s World Cup win was celebrated in India, and focused on the ease of doing business with France, and achieving goals with a team spirit. He also paid tributes to all the people who lost their lives in plane crashes in 1950 and 1966 in France’s Saint Gervais.
France had on Thursday backed India getting a permanent seat in the UN Security Council as the two countries expressed their resolve towards freedom of navigation in the Indo-Pacific and said they were committed towards multilateralism.
In a joint statement issued after talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron, the two countries supported an inclusive peace and reconciliation process in Afghanistan which is Afghan-led, Afghan-owned and Afghan controlled, leading to a lasting political solution.
Macron also held that no third party should intervene or incite violence in connection with the Kashmir issue, and it is for India and Pakistan to jointly resolve the matter, affirming that the abrogation of Article 370 of the Indian constitution is in line with India’s sovereignty.
Prime Minister Modi also held a meeting with French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe today at 12:30 PM IST, before calling on the UNESCO Director-General and attending a community event at 1:45 PM IST.
Modi is in Biarritz to participate in the G7 Summit meetings on August 25-26 at the invitation of President Macron in the sessions on Environment, Climate, Oceans and on Digital Transformation. On the sidelines, he will be having bilateral meetings with leaders of other countries as well.
