india

Updated: Jun 10, 2019 23:44 IST

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has accepted an invitation from French President Emmanuel Macron to attend the outreach session of the G-7 Summit in Biarritz in August as a special invitee, external affairs ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said on Monday.

The invitation was conveyed by the visiting French minister of state for foreign affairs, Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne. “The invitation is a reflection of the personal chemistry between the two leaders, a demonstration of our deepening strategic partnership and recognition of India as a major economic power,” Kumar said. The event will include a bilateral component, he said.

Lemoyne was in New Delhi, where he held an interaction with Indian alumni of French institutions in the fields of business administration, engineering and design. On the sidelines of the event, he said the French government welcomed Prime Minister Modi’s proposal for a global conference to tackle the threat of terrorism.“Every single initiative to fight terrorism is welcome because it is a threat to every country in the world... So, everything that can be done to unite efforts is welcome. It’s (terrorism) a global challenge like climate change. We will be closely looking at this initiative,” he said. Lemoyne’s trip is the first French ministerial visit to India after the Narendra Modi government assumed office for a second term. The French minister said the first Rafale fighter jet will land in India in September and it will be a strong signal of Indo-French cooperation.