File photo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today invited French companies to take advantage of "Make in India" programme in various sectors while pointing out the liberalised FDI regime in India.
This was conveyed to French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius when he called on PM Modi. Recalling his meeting with President Francois Hollande on the sidelines of the G-20 Summit in Brisbane last year, the Prime Minister said that he was looking forward to his visit to France in April.
"Prime Minister Modi and Fabius discussed key areas of bilateral cooperation, including Space, Defence, Railways, Smart Cities, Tourism, Sustainable Development, Energy and Climate Change," an official release said in Delhi.
PM Modi also conveyed condolences to the victims of recent terror attacks in France, and expressed India's solidarity with the people of France.
"Had a wonderful meeting with France's Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Development," Narendra Modi tweeted.
Mr Fabius, who is in Delhi to attend three-day "Delhi Sustainable Development Summit" that began today, had held talks with his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj during which the two leaders discussed cooperation in key areas of energy, climate and trade.
"They talked on all the strategic issues," the Spokesperson in the External Affairs Ministry said.
Asked if Ms Swaraj briefed his French counterpart on recent breakthrough in the Indo-US nuclear deal, he said it was normal to keep them informed about the major developments in the field of energy, where India and France share a robust relations.
It (Indo-US nuclear breakthrough) was discussed but "not in a granular form," he added, noting that the "template is already set" for the Indo-French nuclear cooperation.
France, whose company Areva is involved in the 9900 MW Jaitapur power plant project, has always maintained that they were ready to work within Indian domestic liability law.