French Foreign Minister arrives in India on two-day visit, to call on PM Modi

New Delhi: French Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Development, Jean-Yves Le Drian, arrived here today for a two-day visit to strengthen the bilateral ties between the two sides.

Minister Le Drian will call on for wide-ranging talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of the State visit of French President Emmanuel Macron to India.

The French minister will hold political meetings with several Indian dignitaries, including India's External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Minister of State (IC) for Power and New and Renewable Energy Raj Kumar Singh.

He will also meet Ajit Doval, National Security Adviser to the Indian Prime Minister.

Minister Le Drian's day one visit will be to strengthen various aspects of France's bilateral cooperation with India, its foremost Asian strategic partner: security, economy, sustainable urban development and renewable energy, education and research, people-to-people ties and cultural affairs.

On the second day of his visit, he will officially launch the third edition of the Indo-French platform "Bonjour India" on Saturday.

Jean-Yves Le Drian will also unveil "The Experience": an immersive and interactive multimedia journey to the heart of the Indo-French relationship.

The Grand Opening of Bonjour India will take place at Amber Fort, Jaipur, on Saturday evening. The event will be attended by Minister Le Drian, Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar and Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, which will feature a monumental video creation by French artist Xavier de Richemont, entitled "Barghal".

Bonjour India is a three-month Indo-French collaborative platform focused on innovation, creativity, and partnership, which will be presented in more than 300 events in 33 cities across India.