G20 Summit: PM Modi to hold working lunch meet with French President Macron today

On the sidelines of G20 Summit in New Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold a working lunch meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday. Macron, who arrived in New Delhi on Saturday to attend the G20 Leaders’ Summit, is expected to hold bilateral meetings with PM Modi, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva among others. Macron will depart for Bangladesh on Sunday afternoon, the French President’s office said. PM Modi and Macron previously met in July this year when the Indian PM visited France to attend the Bastille Day Parade. “The G20 Summit will enable France’s Head of State to continue his ongoing dialogue with his counterparts from every continent, so as to combat the risks of fragmentation of the world. It will also be an opportunity to make progress in implementing joint responses to the major global challenges that can only be tackled effectively through multilateral action: peace and stability, poverty alleviation, protection of climate and our planet, food security, and digital regulation,” A statement from Macron’s office said. It further said, “The Summit will also provide an opportunity to follow up on the Summit for a New Global Financial Pact held in Paris last June. This led to the establishment of the Paris Agenda for People and the Planet, providing a framework for collective action to ensure that no country has to choose between fighting poverty and protecting the planet.” Macron is also likely to hold a press conference at the venue on Sunday afternoon ahead of his departure to Bangladesh, the Embassy of France in India said. Macron will depart for Bangladesh for a bilateral visit. To mark the 25th anniversary of the Indo-French partnership, both countries agreed to adopt a roadmap to set the course for the bilateral relationship up to 2047, which will celebrate the centenary of India’s independence, the centenary of the diplomatic ties between the two countries and 50 years of the strategic partnership. With inputs from ANI