French president arrives Feb 14 on two-day visit

New Delhi, Feb 9 (IANS) France’s President Francois Hollande will be on a two-day state visit to India from Feb 14 along with his companion Valerie Trierweiler at the invitation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Hollande will also be accompanied by a high-level delegation, including several key cabinet ministers, senior officials, business-persons and media, a statement said Saturday.

The French president will arrive in New Delhi Feb 14 morning. He will hold delegation level talks with the prime minister, while External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid will pay a call on him.

United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj will also call on the French president, said the statement.

On Feb 15, Hollande will deliver a lecture at the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, Teen Murti House. He is to honour Nobel laureate Amartya Sen with Commandeur de la Legion d’Honneur.

He will then visit Mumbai where he will participate in a business conference, the statement said.

India-France ties have been laid on strong historical foundations and shared values. With upgradation to strategic partnership in 1998, the relationship has become multifaceted and symbiotic in areas such as defence, civil nuclear energy, space and counter terrorism.

Khurshid visited France last month to hold talks with his counterpart Laurent Fabius.

IANS 2013-02-09 21:28:03