French Foreign Minister (left) and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (right) at a welcoming ceremony in the courtyard of the Hotel des Invalides in Paris, April 10 2015. - AFP
Modi, a right-wing Hindu nationalist, was effectively blacklisted by the European Union for years, accused of encouraging deadly communal riots in 2002 in the western state of Gujarat, which he governed for over a decade.
But after his landslide victory in a general election last year, and with India’s economy now growing faster than even China’s, France and Germany are rolling out the red carpet for the one-time outcast.
“It’s not a coincidence that France is the first country that I am visiting as part of my first official trip to Europe,” Modi told French daily Le Figaro before his arrival, pointing to cooperation in a number of sectors such as space, nuclear energy and defence.
“Just like in the nuclear sector, defence cooperation is a key part of our traditional ties with France,” he added.
French nuclear giant Areva is still awaiting the go-ahead to install six reactors in India’s western state of Maharashtra, five years after a bilateral civil nuclear accord.
A French diplomatic source said agreements would be signed in the “renewable energy, sustainable cities, transport and cultural sectors”.
After a two-day whistlestop tour that will take him from northern to southern France -- with a short breather to take in the Paris sights from a boat ride on the Seine -- Modi will jet off to Germany.
He will end his trip further afield in Canada, home to a large Indian diaspora.
Modi is seeking to attract investors as he tries to rewrite India’s reputation as a tricky place to do business -- beset by bureaucracy, corruption and a stringent tax regime.
The government has already relaxed rules for foreign investors, eager to create work for the millions who enter India’s job market each year.
“Our main challenge is to create jobs for the young -- 800 million Indians are less than 35 years old,” he told Le Figaro.
While Modi was quick to meet US President Barack Obama and Asia’s top leaders after his election last May, it has taken him nearly a year to travel to Europe.
Still, trade between India and the EU as a whole has grown from 28.6 billion euros ($30.5 billion) in 2003 to 72.7 billion euros in 2013, and both sides are keen for the upswing to continue.
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