PM Modi’s two-nation tour highlights AI collaboration and India-US ties, featuring key talks in France and a meeting with Trump in the US.
PM Narendra Modi’s two-nation visit to France and the US, starting Monday, will focus on inclusive AI collaboration and strengthening India-US ties.
Modi has arrived in France to co-chair the AI Action Summit with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Tuesday. The two leaders will hold bilateral talks before Modi heads to Washington on February 12 for his first meeting with US President Donald Trump in his second term.
Before departing, Modi expressed anticipation for co-chairing the AI Action Summit, emphasizing a collaborative approach to AI for innovation and the public good in an inclusive, secure, and trustworthy manner.
The Paris summit, the third of its kind, will feature world leaders like US Vice President JD Vance and Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing, along with top tech CEOs, including OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Google’s Sundar Pichai. In addition to launching an AI Foundation, the summit will focus on global collaboration to ensure the safe and trustworthy use of AI.
After the AI Summit, Modi and Macron will head to Marseille for bilateral talks and the inauguration of a new Indian consulate on February 12.
Modi noted that his visit to France would be an opportunity to review progress on the 2047 Horizon Roadmap for the India-France strategic partnership alongside Macron.
Modi stated that they would visit the historic French city of Marseille to inaugurate France’s first Indian consulate and tour the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) project. India, along with France, is part of the consortium working to harness fusion energy for global benefit.
Officials familiar with the visit, speaking on condition of anonymity, said both countries would unveil a bilateral AI roadmap, establish a partnership on small modular reactors (SMRs), and introduce new initiatives to strengthen civil nuclear cooperation.
Modi will also honor Indian soldiers who lost their lives in World Wars I and II at the Mazargues War Cemetery.
From France, he will travel to the US at Trump’s invitation.
“I look forward to meeting my friend, President Trump. While this will be our first meeting since his historic electoral victory and inauguration in January, I fondly recall working together during his first term to build a Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership between India and the US,” Modi said.
He added that the visit would be an opportunity to build on past successes and further strengthen cooperation in technology, trade, defense, energy, and supply chain resilience.
“We will work together for the mutual benefit of our people and to shape a better future for the world,” Modi said.
His US visit comes just a week after an American military flight deported 104 illegal migrants to Amritsar, sparking nationwide outrage over images of deportees in handcuffs and shackles. The Indian government is expected to raise this issue in Washington, having already expressed concerns over the treatment of deportees, including the shackling of women. The US is preparing to send back nearly 600 more illegal migrants to India, with 96 already confirmed as Indian nationals.
Trade, investment, and energy procurement are set to feature in Modi’s talks with Trump, who recently urged India to purchase more US-made defense equipment and work toward a “fair bilateral trading relationship” during a phone call between the two leaders.
During Trump’s first term, Modi visited the US in 2017 and 2019. He was among the first world leaders to call and congratulate Trump after his election victory last year. Following Trump’s inauguration, Modi reached out again to extend his wishes, and the two leaders agreed to meet soon. India was represented at the inauguration by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar.
