French President Emmanuel Macron has announced that Indian PM Modi will be traveling to France for a state visit and attending the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Action Summit. Addressing the French Ambassadors Conference, Macron said, 'France will be hosting on 11-12th February the AI Summit, summit for action. This summit will enable us to have an international discussion on Artificial intelligence. PM Modi will be there immediately after his state visit to our country, & this enables us to have dialogue with all the powers on AI, US, China & major nations like India which have a role to play, & gulf states'. 

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India will be co-hosting the summit that will take place at the Grand Palais in Paris. This summit follows a series of international gatherings on AI, including the AI Safety Summit at Bletchley Park in the UK (2023) and in Seoul, South Korea (2024). Indian govt itself has been engaging with global AI initiatives, something that was evident by hosted the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) Summit 2023 in Delhi. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, inaugurating the summit, emphasised India's role in AI development and governance.

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This is the 2nd visit of PM Modi to France in the last one and a half years. PM Modi was the Guest of Honour at France's Bastille Day parade in July 2023, and the visit came as India France marked the 25th anniversary of their strategic partnership. The visit was followed by a reciprocal visit of French President Macron who was the chief guest at India's Republic day in January of 2024.

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The upcoming visit is expected to focus on finalizing two large defense deals between India and France. The deals worth billions of dollars involve the purchase of 26 Rafale-M fighter jets for the Indian Navy's aircraft carriers and Scorpene-class conventional submarines. India, France has a strong defence partnership. Other than buying Rafael fighter jets, both sides are co-developing a combat aircraft engine. France has committed to supporting 'Make in India' by transferring technology for various defense projects, enhancing India's defense industrial capabilities. The countries hold exercises in all domains like Shakti, Varuna and Garuda.

From Indo Pacific to counter terror, both countries have been working with each other. France played a key role in listing of Pakistani terrorists at the UN and has been a vocal support of India's presence at a reformed United Nations Security Council.