As Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi concluded his two-nation visit, Indian officials said the leitmotif of his visits to France and Slovakia, including attending the Group of Seven (G7) outreach session in Evian-les-Bains, was furthering India’s trade ties, especially with the US, UK, the European Union (EU), and Canada.
Regarding the aftermath of the West Asia peace deal, Indian officials said New Delhi is assessing how the situation unfolds on the ground in the coming days, but hopes peace will prevail. Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said India has good relations with both Iran and Israel, and has been in constant contact with leaders and diplomats from both countries during the conflict. He said New Delhi has ongoing conversations with both Tel Aviv and Tehran on ways in which it can contribute through engagement.
Officials said Wednesday’s meeting between Modi and US President Donald Trump at Evian-les-Bains brought certainty to the India-US trade negotiations, which had undergone a phase of uncertainty. They added that the visit of US Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer to New Delhi next week could contribute significantly to finalising the agreement.
Addressing a media briefing in Paris on Thursday evening, Misri said the PM’s bilateral meeting with Trump on the margins of the G7 Summit was devoted mostly to discussing the India-US trade deal.
At their meeting, Modi and Trump “instructed their officials to work towards a balanced, mutually beneficial, and commercially meaningful agreement at the earliest,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) stated in its press statement on the meeting. USTR Greer will be visiting India next week in this connection, the MEA said.
On India-US ties, and Modi and Trump meeting each other after 16 months, Misri said ups and downs are a constant feature in relations between countries, and diplomats try to manage developments. He described the Modi-Trump meeting as having taken place in a “positive atmosphere”.
The foreign secretary said there had been some uncertainty over the trade deal, and the meeting brought certainty, with the leaders stressing that it is important to move forward on the negotiations.
Officials said the conflict in West Asia has underlined the importance of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC). It assumes much importance in the context of the conflict in West Asia, they said. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who attended the G7 Summit and also met Modi, spoke of supporting the IMEC initiative in her social media posts. India remains in close touch with France, which was the original signatory on the initiative along with New Delhi, to develop a consensus and for the rollout of IMEC on the ground in the coming years.
On trade, Misri said the PM’s meeting with his UK counterpart Keir Starmer ended with both agreeing on July 15 as the date for the entry of the bilateral Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (Cepa). Modi’s meeting with Canadian PM Mark Carney concluded with the leaders asking their respective officials to sign the bilateral trade deal by the end of the year, while his meeting with von der Leyen and European Council President Antonia Costa also led to the EU leadership announcing that the India-EU deal will be formalised by year-end.
In Paris on Thursday, Modi met Benoit Bazin, chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Saint-Gobain, and Martin Sion, CEO of Alstom, where the latter shared Alstom’s plans for “further expansion and investments in India”. Modi also met Arthur Mensch, cofounder and CEO of Mistral AI. Mensch expressed Mistral AI’s “strong interest in collaborating with India” and partnering with Indian companies “to drive innovation and expand AI capabilities”.
In New Delhi, hours after he returned from France, where he was part of Trump’s delegation, US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor called on Union Home Minister Amit Shah. In a post on X, Shah said: “Had a detailed discussion on further strengthening cooperation between India and the US in the area of security, particularly in counter-terrorism and counter-narcotics.” In his post on X, Gor termed his meeting with Shah “excellent”. “We had a fruitful discussion on enhancing collaboration to combat terrorism, shield our people from narcotics and illicit drugs, secure our borders, and jointly bring criminals to justice in both nations,” he said. In another post, Gor said: “Back in New Delhi after a great trip to the G7 in France. Lots of positive outcomes between the US and India.”
In his address at VivaTech 2026 in Paris, Europe’s largest technology and startup event, Modi underscored the need to democratise access to technology. “When it comes to technology, along with innovation, what matters is access. Technology can lead to progress, only when it is democratised,” the PM said in his speech. India is the AI Country Partner in VivaTech 2026. This is also India’s largest ever presence at VivaTech with pavilions set up to showcase its innovation ecosystem across artificial intelligence (AI), digital public infrastructure, healthtech, clean technologies, mobility, and advanced computing, the MEA said. Over 80 Indian deeptech companies and startups are participating in the event, it added.
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