New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Sunday held bilateral meetings with the leaders of France, Germany, the Netherlands and the European Union (EU) among others.
After the conclusion of the 18th G20 Leaders’ Summit, Modi also held a working lunch with French President Emmanuel Macron. The two leaders discussed progress on various spheres of collaboration such as defence, space, nuclear energy, climate change etc, with the frameworks of the ‘Horizon 2047’ Roadmap, the Indo-Pacific Roadmap and more established during the prime minister’s July state visit.
“Both leaders reiterated their commitment to strengthen the defence cooperation through partnership in design, development, testing and manufacture of advanced defence technologies and platforms, and expand production in India, including for third countries in the Indo-Pacific and beyond,” the India-France joint statement noted. The two countries also called for early completion of the Defence Industrial Roadmap.
Furthermore, Modi and Macron called for “strengthening of institutional linkages” in areas of science, technological innovation, education, health and environment cooperation among others.
Apart from Macron, Modi also held a bilateral meeting with President of the European Council Charles Michel and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen. The newly launched India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor featured in the conversation and both parties called for its “expeditious implementation”.
The leaders highlighted various facets of the strategic partnership between the country and the supranational organisation, from discussing the next India-EU summit, the Free Trade Agreement on the way, India’s LiFE initiative, the Trade and Technology Council (TTC) and more.
Until last month, five rounds of negotiations had taken place on subjects such as trade, investments, and Geographical Indications (GI) between New Delhi and the 27-nation EU.
Modi also held talks with the Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte to strengthen bilateral ties in numerous areas of cooperation such as trade and investment, defence and security, clean energy and green hydrogen, semiconductors, cyber and digital technology, among others.
He also discussed ties with Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz on the bilateral strategic partnership between the two countries. Apart from exchanging views on global issues, Modi and Scholz discussed ways to deepen cooperation in areas like defence, green and sustainable development, critical minerals, mobility of skilled personnel and education. The PM also invited the German leader to India next year for the next round of intergovernmental consultations.
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)
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