PM Modi meets French President Macron on sidelines of G20 summit

Rome: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday met with French President Emmanuel Macron on the sidelines of the G20 summit here and the two leaders had ”productive discussions” on a range of issues of mutual and global interests.

Prime Minister Modi, who is here at the invitation of his Italian counterpart Mario Draghi, was accompanied by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar during his meeting with Macron.

”Productive discussions between PM @narendramodi and President @EmmanuelMacron on the sidelines of the @g20org Summit. India and France are cooperating extensively in various sectors. Today’s talks will add momentum to the bilateral ties between the two nations,” the Prime Minister’s Office tweeted.

The meeting comes more than a month after the two leaders held a telephonic conversation, amidst Paris’ strong criticism of the AUKUS (Australia-UK-US) security partnership.

During the telephonic conversation last month, the two leaders had agreed to ”act jointly” in the Indo-Pacific to keep the region stable, rules-based and free from any hegemony.

At the time, the two had reviewed the increasing bilateral collaboration in the Indo-Pacific region and the important role that the India-France partnership plays in promoting stability and security in the region.

They had vowed to maintain regular discussions to coordinate ahead of upcoming events, in particular the G20 and the COP26 on climate change, and continue with their joint actions against the COVID-19 pandemic.