Prime Minister Narendra Modi gets ceremonial welcome in Paris on Friday. Photo: PTI Prime Minister Narendra Modi gets ceremonial welcome in Paris on Friday. Photo: PTI

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in France on the first leg of a three-nation visit, was on Friday accorded a ceremonial welcome in Paris at the Les Invalides.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius was present during the ceremonial reception to Modi accorded at the large courtyard of the seventh century Les Invalides, which houses a military museum.

After the ceremony, Modi accompanied by Fabius proceeded to attend two back-to-back French CEOs forum meetings, one on infrastructure and the other on defence technology. Modi will later visit the Unesco headquarters where he will give a speech. He will attend a lunch at the French National Assembly and interact with some political leaders.

The India-France CEOs Forum, which held a meeting on Thursday, is to present its report on the ways to boost bilateral trade when Modi meets French President Francois Hollande later in the day. After Modi and Hollande hold talks, a number of agreements are set to be inked. In the evening, Modi and Hollande will go on a boat ride on the Seine river, in a "nav pey charcha" moment. He will also attend a banquet by Hollande.

Modi arrived to a red carpet welcome on Thursday night and was received by Thierry Braillard, minister of state for sports, according to a tweet by the Indian embassy in Paris.

Modi also interacted with a large number of the Indian community who were present at the airport to greet him. Ahead of talks between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Francois Hollande, India on Friday said it expects "movement" on a proposal for setting up French nuclear reactors in Jaitapur in Maharashtra as well as Rafale fighter deal, both of which are pending for long.

These issues, along with trade, will be high on the agenda of substantive discussions between the two leaders amid India's keen interest to get participation of French companies in the 'Make in India' programme. Terrorism, against the backdrop of an attack here three months back, will also be discussed.

"India and France are strategic partners. In this context, the issues of civil nuclear and defence cooperation will be discussed. The issues you referred to will also be discussed. We expect movement on these issues," External Affairs Ministry spokesman Syed Akbaruddin said here when asked whether the two leaders will talk about Jaitapur nuclear project and multi-billion dollar Rafale deal.

"There will be substantive discussions on defence and nuclear issues. Wait for the outcome," he added.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi upon his arrival at the Paris Orly International airport in France on Friday. (PTI Photo) Prime Minister Narendra Modi upon his arrival at the Paris Orly International airport in France on Friday. (PTI Photo)

The spokesman said India expects French companies to participate in 'Make in India' programme in the field of defence as well as civil nuclear energy, "where India can make some nuclear installations with France."

The Jaitapur project, where French company Areva is to set up six nuclear reactors with total power generation capacity of about 10,000 MW, is stuck for long because of differences over the cost of electricity to be generated.

Similarly, the deal to supply 126 Rafale fighter planes is also deadlocked because of differences over price.

Modi, who arrived here on Friday on a four-day visit, will also address two meetings with French CEOs one on infrastructure and another on defence.

He will also have 'Naav pe Charcha' (chat on boat) with Hollande when they go for a cruise on Seine river which passes through Paris.