French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian will be on a three-day official visit to India, starting Tuesday, to strengthen strategic ties, boost co-operation in several fields such as environment, economy, IT, arts and culture, and participate in the Raisina Dialogue.

Le Drian will hold bilateral discussions with his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar and also call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday, according to an official release from the French Embassy in India circulated on Monday.

“On Wednesday...Minister Le Drian together with Prakash Javadekar, Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, will take part in a panel discussion at the French Embassy on boosting global action against climate change in view of COP26,” the statement said.

Focus on climate change

The panel will include French Ambassador for Climate Stéphane Crouzat, and several Indian civil society figures who are active in environmental protection and whose actions are key in driving and achieving the ecological transition.

The Minister will preside over initiatives aimed at furthering people-to-people and cultural ties between France and India. Le Drian will also address Indo-French co-operation in cinema and the promotion of gender equality in this industry. The Minister will then attend the Raisina Dialogue and participate in a joint discussion with Minister Jaishankar and Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne, on multi-lateralism in the Indo-Pacific region.

On the final day of his visit, the Minister will travel to Bengaluru, where he will highlight Indo-French co-operation on health and biological sciences at the Bangalore Life Sciences Cluster, visit ISRO’s Human Space Flight Centre and meet investors and CEOs of major Indian business groups to promote France as an attractive investment destination, the release said.