New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will depart for a three-nation tour on Thursday that takes him to France, Germany and Canada, all part of the G-7 group.
The Ministry of External Affairs informed today that the PM will arrive in Paris - his first stop - tomorrow evening.
In Paris, his first engagement will be two round table conferences with CEOs, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar said at a media briefing here.
“The PM has back to back roundtables, one is with French CEOs with infrastructure as theme and 2nd with defence technology as theme,” Jaishankar stated.
“We hope that these roundtables will lead to their taking interest in 'Make in India' investments in defence,” Jaishankar said.
One of the key highlights of PM Modi's stop in France would be a boat ride with President Francois Hollande on River Siene.
“It's a sort of 'naav pey charcha',” said Jaishankar.
“These are all democratic countries in that sense we have larger political convergence with them. With each of these countries the PM’s programme is divided in a way from which outcomes are most relevant and messages are most effective,” the Foreign Secretary said.
Talking about the focus on nuclear energy during PM's visit, Jaishankar said, “France is one of the earliest partners on civil nuclear partnerships. We have an agreement with Aleva. We have to move to a techno-commercial state, viability issues have to be worked on. On liability there are not much issues with France.”
“The process of realisation on civil nuclear cooperation will unfold. About whether it will happen during PM's visit, I cannot share now,” he added.
In Germany, Ganga cleaning and rejuvenation will be part of agenda in discussions that PM will have there, the official informed.
Before leaving for Canada, PM Modi will visit a railway station in Germany, Jaishankar said.
“We are speaking with many countries on station development, that’s where railway journey begins. Railways issue is of deep interest to government. If we can modernise Indian Railways it will have great multiplier effect on the Indian economy,” he said further.
MEA's R Swaminathan said the Canada leg of PM Modi's trip is important as it will be first standalone prime ministerial visit in 42 years to that country.
In Canada, where he will land on April 14 evening, PM Modi will visit the Air India memorial, a gurdwara and a temple, said Swaminathan.
In Vancouver, the PM will visit the Laxminarayan temple where he will interact with the Indian community, and then visit a gurudwara, Swaminathan stated.
“Canada has 1.2 million strong vibrant Indian community. PM will be interacting with the Indian community there.”
