French Minister Lemoyne to reach India on Monday

French Minister of State for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean Baptiste Lemoyne will visit India on Monday to do the groundwork for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to France in August.

This will be the first French ministerial visit after the formation of the new government. 

"The visit of Lemoyne will acknowledge reinforcement of the Indo-French relationship and will lay the groundwork for the visit of the Prime Minister of India to France on the occasion of the G7 Summit at Biarritz in August, on the invitation of the Emmanuel Macron, President of the French Republic," the French embassy said in an official statement.

"The meeting will focus on deepening of the Indo-French strategic partnership and its contribution to a more stable and sustainable world governance," it said.

During his visit, Lemoyne will also call on External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, Minister of State for External Affairs V. Muraleedharan and Minister of Commerce and Industry Hardeep Singh Puri.

He will also visit the Alliance Française de Delhi and interact with Indian alumni of French higher education institutions in the fields of business administration, engineering and design.

Hosted by the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), Lemoyne will attend a lunch and interact with top Indian business leaders, including V. Kirloskar, President of CII and Kirloskar Group, and Chandrajit Banerjee, CII Director General.

India has been invited to the G7 summit by France, which is the chair this time.

During his congratulatory call to Modi after his re-election as the Prime Minister, French President Macron reiterated his invitation to visit France in August for a bilateral meeting and also to attend the G7 Summit at Biarritz.

India had participated in the G7 summit in 2005. The G7 consists of the US, the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Japan and Italy. IANS