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France a crucial partner in Make in India, Aatmanirbhar Bharat, says PM Modi in joint briefing with Macron
Prime Minister Modi also announced that the government will soon launch India's Unique Payments Interface (UPI) in France.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said India sees France as a natural partner in its resolve to become a developed nation.
“We are celebrating 25 years of our strategic partnership. We are making a roadmap for the next 25 years on the basis of the strong foundation of the previous 25 years. Bold and ambitious goals are being set for this. People of India have taken the resolve to make ourselves a developed nation. In this journey, we see France as a natural partner”, the prime minister said in a joint briefing with French president Emmanuel Macron in Paris.
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Calling defence ties as the foundation of Indo-French relations, Modi said France is an important partner in the ‘Make In India’ and ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’. “Be it submarines or Indian Naval ships, together we want to fulfill not just ours but also the requirements of other friendly countries", the prime minister said.
“I welcome the long-term agreement between Indian Oil and France's Total company to export Liquefied natural gas (LNG), it will help in achieving our target of clean energy transition”, Modi added.
The prime minister announced the launch of India's unified payments interface in France.
“We will open a new Indian Consulate in the city of Marseille. We welcome the decision to grant long-term visas to people of Indian origin studying in France. I invite French universities to set up their campuses in India... Indian athletes are excited to participate in next year's Paris Olympics”, he said during the briefing at the Elysee Palace.
French president Macron said,"We can't forget the youth...By 2030, we want to send 30,000 French students there (to India)...For the young Indians who want to pursue higher education in France, we want to make a conducive visa policy".
Hailing the launch of Chandrayaan 3, PM Modi also spoke on the agreements between the space agencies of both the countries.
“Today, on the successful launch of #Chandrayaan3, the entire India is excited. This is a major achievement of our scientists. In the arena of Space, India and France have had an old and deep cooperation. There have been new agreements between our Space agencies…”, Modi said.
