Modi Accorded Ceremonial Welcome in Paris

PARIS: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is in France on the first leg of a three-nation visit, was accorded a ceremonial welcome here.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius was present during the ceremonial reception accorded to Modi at the large courtyard of the seventh century Les Invalides, which houses a military museum.

After the ceremony, Modi accompanied by Fabius proceeded to attend two back-to-back French CEOs forum meetings, one on infrastructure and the other on defence technology.

Modi will later visit the UNESCO headquarters where he will give a speech. He will attend a lunch at the French National Assembly and interact with some political leaders.

The India-France CEOs Forum, which held a meeting on Thursday, is to present its report on the ways to boost bilateral trade when Modi meets French President Francois Hollande later in the day.

After Modi and Hollande hold talks, a number of agreements are set to be inked.

In the evening, Modi and Hollande will go on a boat ride on the Seine river, in a "nav pey charcha" moment. He will also attend a banquet by Hollande.

Modi arrived to a red carpet welcome on Thursday night and was received by Thierry Braillard, minister of state for sports, according to a tweet by the Indian embassy in Paris.

Modi also interacted with a large number of the Indian community who were present at the airport to greet him.

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