Indian PM invites French CEOs to explore country’s growth story

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged industry captains from France to become a part of his country’s growth story, as he and French President Emmanuel Macron addressed a group of leading CEOs of both countries at Quai d’Orsay in Paris on Friday. The forum consisted of CEOs from diverse sectors, including aviation, manufacturing, defense, technology, and energy.

At a meeting with the CEOs which followed a joint press conference at the Élysée Palace, Modi noted the role played by these industry leaders in strengthening bilateral relations and promoting economic cooperation between India and France. The Indian leader highlighted India’s progress in renewables, start-ups, pharma, IT, digital payments, and infrastructure, and the initiatives undertaken by his government to make doing business easier since it came to power in 2014. He encouraged the CEOs to utilize the investment opportunities back home and become a part of India’s growth story.

Some of the prominent French CEOs who took part in the meeting included Guillaume Faury of Airbus, Henri Poupart Lafarge of Alstom, Paul Hermelin of Capgemini, Pierre-Eric Pommellet of Naval Group, Peter Herweck of Schneider Electric, and Philippe Errera of Safran. From the Indian side, the delegation included Hari S. Bhartia of Jubilant Life Sciences, Saroj Kumar Poddar of Adventz Group, Sangita Reddy of Apollo Hospitals, Lakshmi Mittal of ArcelorMittal, and Pieter Elbers of IndiGo.

On the sidelines of the forum, Modi met with Leena Nair, the global CEO of French luxury fashion house Chanel. In a tweet, he expressed his delight in meeting a person of Indian origin who has made a significant impact on the global stage. He congratulated Nair for her success and invited Chanel to explore investment and collaboration opportunities in India. They also discussed ways to promote handicrafts and homegrown textile.

"It was a proud moment for me to talk to him. He was encouraging about my achievements but importantly, he was keen that I continue to support other women and girls and be a role model for many of them coming out of India,” Nair told the ANI news agency. "We talked about the development of the embroidery work and chikankari work done in India which is important and requires skill. We also talked about khadi fabric and how we can bring it to the global stage," she added.

Earlier on Friday, the Indian prime minister met with Charlotte Chopin, a renowned French yoga teacher. He expressed his appreciation for Chopin’s deep faith in yoga and her ground-breaking work in its promotion in France. Chopin shared her views on how yoga can bring happiness and promote holistic wellbeing.

Modi also met with Thomas Pesquet, a French aerospace engineer, pilot, European Space Agency astronaut, and actor. Modi shared with Pesquet India’s progress in the space sector, particularly in promoting startups and encouraging greater private sector participation. He invited Pesquet to visit India to motivate young people, as well as exploring collaboration in the space domain.