Nice, June 14 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday departed for Bratislava from Nice, concluding the first leg of the visit. He is going to pay a State visit to Slovakia from June 14-16 at the invitation of the Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico.

“After a fruitful visit to Nice, France, which resulted in several bilateral outcomes with strong focus on innovation and future tech, PM Narendra Modi has departed for Bratislava,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on social media platform X.

“Nice to have met you (Emmanuel Macron) in Nice. A productive first leg indeed. The India-France partnership will keep scaling new heights. See you in Evian and Paris…,” PM Modi wrote on X ahead of his departure from Nice.

Earlier on Sunday, PM Modi held talks with French President Emmanuel Macron, deepening cooperation in several key sectors.

“Today’s talks with my friend, President Macron, were exceptionally productive. Considering the longstanding friendship between our nations, we have decided to elevate our ties to a Special Global Strategic Partnership,” PM Modi wrote on X.

“Our talks covered ways to deepen cooperation in key sectors like defence, technology, space, security, counter terrorism, innovation and more,” he added.

According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the two leaders emphasised the importance of enhancing people-to-people ties and PM Modi thanked President Macron for the swift operationalisation of visa-free transit for Indian nationals at French airports.

They further discussed ways to enhance the mobility of talent and students between the two countries and expand mutual recognition of educational qualifications.

The Prime Minister invited French universities to open campuses in India under the New Education Policy.

Over lunch hosted by Macron in honour of PM Modi, the two leaders exchanged perspectives on matters of global importance, including the situation in West Asia and Ukraine.

“Prime Minister Modi looked forward to participating in the upcoming G7 Summit in Evian and thanked President Macron for engaging India in substantive discussions leading up to the summit,” the MEA noted.

–IANS

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