France welcomes Modi’s proposal for global conference on terror

Lemoyne was slated to meet External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Urban Development Minister Hardeep Singh Puri and a Confederation of Indian Industry delegation before returning to France late night.

“French President Emmanuel Macron and PM Modi have a strong relationship personally. This visit is to prepare for PM Modi’s participation at G-7 Summit in August,” he said.

France has invited Modi to France for the G-7 summit. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had attended the G-8 summits in 2005, 2007 and 2008.

“Every single initiative to fight terrorism is welcome because it is a threat to every country in the world… So, everything that can be done to unite efforts is welcome. It’s (terrorism) a global challenge like climate change. We will be closely looking at this initiative,” he said. “Fight against terrorism is at the heart of our priorities… France stands alongside India on this … and I can say that we have strong relations on this front,” he said.

Lemoyne’s trip is the first French ministerial visit to India after the Modi government assumed office for a second term.