PM Modi to co-chair the AI Action on February 11 in his France visit along with French President Emmanuel Macron
NEW DELHI : India and France to make major announcements in the areas of Defence, Small Modular Reactors (SMR) and aircraft Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) and also adopt a France-India roadmap on Artificial Intelligence (AI), during Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s three day visit to France. The deal for 26 Rafale-M fighter jets for the Indian Navy is expected to be announced during the visit and concluded later in India, it has been learnt.
PM Modi will arrive in Paris on the evening of February 10 to co-chair the AI Action summit along with French President Emmanuel Macron and also for bilateral talks, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said on Friday (February 7, 2025) briefing the media on the upcoming visits. “Al is bound to have and already having profound impact across all sectors of economy, polity, society and governance and therefore summit such as the Al Summit is both significant and timely.” he stated. “We will be interested in Al applications that are designed developed, deployed and used in safe, humane, responsible, trustworthy manner.”
“Defence, security and sovereignty issues will be at the core of the discussions and interesting announcement will be made during the visit,” diplomatic sources said. “There are different stakeholders who can do lots of things. But if you look at recent history and what we can do, there are no competitors in terms of ‘Make in India’ and transfer of technology.”
India and France are set to make major announcements in the areas of defence, Small Modular Reactors (SMR) and aircraft Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) and also adopt a France-India roadmap on Artificial Intelligence (AI), during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s three day visit to France early next week. The deal for 26 Rafale-M fighter jets for the Indian Navy is expected to be announced during the visit and concluded later in India, it has been learnt.
Mr. Modi will arrive in Paris on the evening of February 10 to co-chair the AI Action summit along with French President Emmanuel Macron and also for bilateral talks, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said on Friday (February 7, 2025) briefing the media on the upcoming visits. “Al is bound to have and already having profound impact across all sectors of economy, polity, society and governance and therefore summit such as the Al Summit is both significant and timely.” he stated. “We will be interested in Al applications that are designed developed, deployed and used in safe, humane, responsible, trustworthy manner.”
“Defence, security and sovereignty issues will be at the core of the discussions and interesting announcement will be made during the visit,” diplomatic sources said. “There are different stakeholders who can do lots of things. But if you look at recent history and what we can do, there are no competitors in terms of ‘Make in India’ and transfer of technology.”
On Monday, February 10, 2025 evening ,PM Modi will attend the VVIP summit dinner and the AI Action summit is scheduled to be held in the first half of Tuesday (February 11, 2025). The bilateral component of the visit will begin in the afternoon of February 11 with a CEO roundtable to be co-chaired by both leaders. After that, Mr. Modi will travel South of France to Marseille, where India is opening a consulate, and the bilateral talks are scheduled to take place there followed by a private dinner.
On February 12, Mr. Modi will visit the war cemetery and pay tributes to Indian soldiers who laid down their lives in World War-I. He will also visit Cadarshe, the site international thermal nuclear experimental reactor. “The two leaders will pay a visit to Cadarshe which is the site of the international thermal nuclear experimental reactor, which is a high science project in which India is a partner with few other countries,” Mr. Misri stated.
There are not many counties what we do and what we are eager to do in the future, diplomatic sources stressed. In addition to the Rafale-M fighter deal, the deal for three additional Scorpene-class diesel-electric submarines is also in advanced stages likely to be concluded in the next couple of months. Together, the deals are worth around $10-11 billion. In addition, the two countries in advanced stages of talks for co-design and co-development of a 110 KN aero engine to power India’s fifth generation fighter, Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft, that is under development.
The AI summit will see the launch of an AI foundation for various projects on governance and inclusivity, sources said as also the aspect of bringing standards for the domain. We need to bring some ethics into the governance of AI, the source added.
India was one of the first countries to confirm participation for the AI summit, diplomatic sources said. At the summit, the US would be represented by Vice President J. D. Vance and China by its Vice Premier.
Along with developments and cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) will be a key focus area during the bilateral talks between PM Modi and French President Macron, diplomatic sources said noting that France is the only major country to set up a special envoy for IMEC.
There is also focus on people to people exchanges and France has set a target of having 30,000 Indian students in France by 2030, sources added. It is currently at 10,000.
The upcoming visit will be Mr. Modi’s sixth official visit to France.
Safarn, whose engines power the Rafale and Mirage-2000 fighter jets in service with the Indian Air Force, will be present at Aero India in Bengaluru next week. The company has a major footprint with 17 facilities, over 2400 employees, and significant partnerships with Indian defence and aerospace organizations, according to a statement. Safran has been the pioneer for engine MRO in India both for helicopter engines and commercial LEAP engines, developed by CFM International, a joint venture between Safran aircraft engines and GE aerospace, the company added.