MARSEILLES : Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday jointly inaugurated the Indian Consulate in Marseilles.

Ahead of the opening of the consulate, the two leaders were welcomed with the sound of dhols.
The duo also interacted with the members of the Indian diaspora.

“After the CEOs’ Forum, PM Modi and Macron travelled together to Marseilles in the French Presidential aircraft, showing exceptional gesture by Macron. It is emblematic not only of the deep personal trust between the two leaders, but also of the remarkable confidence that they have in each other and that really characterises the relationship as well,” Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said in a Special briefing by the Ministry of External Affairs on PM’s visit to France.

The two leaders also held discussions on board the aircraft and the relations between the countries reached new heights! Misri said.

“PM Modi and Macron held discussions on board the aircraft and one could say that India-France relations touched new heights, literally! These discussions on board the aircraft were on number of issues continued upon landing in Marseilles where the two leaders were joined by their larger delegations and the discussions took place over the course of dinner that was hosted by Macron in honour of PM Modi.

These discussions covered the entire gamut of our deep and diverse strategic partnership. The two leaders reviewed progress in the areas of defence, in the area of space, civil nuclear cooperation, and in the areas of health, as well as people-to-people cooperation between the two sides,” he said.

Misri said that the two leaders appreciated the recent progress in keeping up with the Horizon 2047 Roadmap.

“The two leaders appreciated recent progress that has taken place in all of these areas. In keeping with both the Horizon 2047 Roadmap and in the defence areas in particular,” he said.

Misri said that PM Modi’s visit had two components- one of the AI Summit, and the other was the bilateral component.

He said, “President Macron visited India last year at the 75th Republic Day on 26th January as the chief guest… The current visit of the Prime Minister has two components as you are aware, he was here to co-chair the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Action Summit in Paris yesterday and then there was a bilateral component to the visit both in Paris and in Marseille yesterday as well as today. The last couple of days have been packed with a number of engagements…Prime Minister met with the Vice President of the United States JD Vance.” (ANI)