PM Modi to embark on four-day visit to France, United States; co-chair the AI Action Summit with President Macron

The Prime Minister will visit France from February 10 to 12 and the United States on February 12 and 13.

Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said at a special media briefing that PM Modi will co-chair the AI Action Summit along with President Macron on February 11.

"At the invitation of French President Emmanuel Macron, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be visiting France from 10th to 12th February 2025. This visit is on the occasion of the organization of the Artificial Intelligence Summit that France is organizing and the Prime Minister will co-chair this AI Action Summit alongside President Macron of France," he said.

Prime Minister will arrive in Paris on the February 10 evening and attend a dinner that is being hosted by President Macron at the Elysee Palace in honour of visiting heads of government and heads of State.

Misri said that the dinner is also likely to be attended by a large number of CEOs from the tech domain and a number of other distinguished invitees to the summit.

The following day, the Prime Minister will co-chair the AI Action Summit.

"This is the third such high-level summit that is being held in the very recent past. The first of these was in the UK in 2023, the second one in the Republic of Korea in 2024 and now this one in France," Misri said.

After the AI summit, there will be a bilateral component to the visit and PM Modi and President Macron will address the India-France CEOs forum.

PM Modi will travel to Marseille on the evening of February 11. The France President will also host a dinner in honour of PM Modi.

On February 12, the two leaders will visit the war cemetery and there they will pay tribute to the sacrifices made by Indian Soldiers in World War 1.

The two leaders will jointly inaugurate the newest Consulate General of India in Marseille and will pay a visit to Kadash which is the site of the international thermal nuclear experimental reactor.

During his visit to the United States, PM Modi will hold a meeting with President Donald Trump and interact with senior leaders of US administration.

This will be the first visit of PM Modi to the US since the inauguration of President Donald Trump.

The Foreign Secretary said that Prime Minister's visit within three weeks of the new administration taking office shows the importance of the India-US partnership.

"At the invitation of US President Donald Trump, PM Modi will pay an official working visit to the US on 12th and 13th of February. This will be the first visit of Prime Minister Modi to the United States since the inauguration of the second presidential term of US President Donald Trump," he said.

"The fact that the Prime Minister has been invited to visit the US within barely three weeks of the new administration taking office shows the importance of the India-US partnership and is also reflective of the bipartisan support, that this partnership enjoys in the US," he added.

Answering a query, he said PM Modi and US President will have discussions on areas such as energy and defence.

"Energy and defence, both of these are definitely be going to be on the table when the PM and President meets. on Tariffs, you have seen the announcement that have been made in the budget, some of those are already out there. We expect that there will be a more intense and continuing conversation with US on these matters," he said.

Misri informed that PM Modi will hold bilateral meeting with Donald Trump and key US administration figures are also expected to call on PM.

"The PM will hold a bilateral meeting with Donald Trump in both restricted and delegation level format. The senior US administration figures are expected to call on PM during the visit. PM will also have the opportunity to interact with business leaders and members of Indian community," Misri said.

He said India's relationship with US has been "one of our strongest international partnership in recent years."

Answering queries on the deportation of Indian nationals in military plane, Misri said the deportation that happened the day before yesterday "is somewhat different compared to flights that have been taking place for many years and is of a slightly different nature".

Answering another query, he said the process of deportation is not new and said this was also emphasised by External Affairs Minister (EAM) in his statement in Parliament on Thursday.

He said Indian authorities have been told by the US that there are up to 487 presumed Indian citizens with final removal orders.

"I would not accept the description of India as an uncooperative country. Any country in the world if it wants to accept its nationals back will want to have the assurance that whosoever is coming back is a citizen of India, there are issues of legality associated with it, there are issues of security associated with it...In recent conversations when we have sought details about potential returnees from US. We have been told that there are up to 487 presumed Indian citizens with final removal orders. We have sought details and they have been provided to us with regard to 298 individuals. We have been very transparent on this use with US counterparts," he said.

The Foreign Secretary said India continues to emphasise to US authorities that there should be no mistreatment of deportees.

"The description by the EAM of the standard operating procedure relating to the use of restraints which has been communicated to us by US authorities including the immigration and customs enforcement. EAM attracted attention to the fact that these have been in practice for a long period of time...On the issue of mistreatment, it is a valid issue to raise and we continue to emphasise to US authorities that there should be no mistreatment of deportees...We will continue to take up any instances of mistreatment that come to our attention. Action needs to be taken across the system against the underlying ecosystem that thrives on promoting illegal immigration," he said.

Asked if there were protests after the deportation of illegal Indian immigrants from the US in 2012, he said there was apparently no protest. "I don't think there was any protest. We don't have any record of any protest having been made about it," he said.

On the extradition of Tahawwur Rana, Misri said he has exhausted all legal avenues in the US with US Supreme Court also dismissing his appeal.

"We are in touch with US authorities to work on the logistics of his surrender to Indian authorities," he said.

Pakistani origin businessman Tahawwur Hussain Rana was convicted for his role in the 26/11 attacks on Mumbai that resulted in killing of 164 people.

Asked about vandalisation of the memorial and residence of Bangladesh's founding father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Misri said he would also like to point out that the safety of diplomatic premises is the responsibility of the host government.

"I have no doubt that the Bangladesh authorities are fully aware of their responsibilities in this regard," he said. (ANI)