PM Modi to attend AI Action Summit in France in February: French President Macron – ‘a dialogue with all the powers’

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will participate in the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Summit to be held held in France in February, President Emmanuel Macron has said.

“France will be hosting on February 11 and 12 the AI Summit, a summit for action, which will enable us to have a discussion on artificial intelligence,” President Macron said while addressing the 30th Conference of Ambassadors.

This summit will allow for an international conversation on AI, Macron said.

“Prime Minister Modi will be there immediately after the state visit to our country. This (the AI Summit) will enable us to have a dialogue with all the powers, IEA, US, China and major nations such as .... India which has a role to play as well as the Gulf States,” he said.

Even though Macron said February 11 and 12, the “AI Action Summit” is to be held on February 10 and 11.

Macron presented his foreign policy for 2025 and spoke on a number of topics, including its equation with the US post-Donald Trump win, according to his speech livestreamed on France24.

Earlier, French Presidency confirmed India's invitation to the AI Action Summit in December, describing India as a “very important country.” It announced that 90 countries, including India, had been invited to participate.

"We have invited India and are working very closely with India in the run-up to the summit. Misinformation and misuse of AI are themes that will be addressed," it said calling India is ‘a very important country,’ in terms of its potential to make a concrete impact on people's lives.

Modi-Macron Meeting

"We look forward to India's contributions to the summit's various teams," it added.

Modi's last meeting with Macron was on November 18 on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It was the third meeting between the two leaders in 2024, after President Macron’s visit to India as the Chief Guest for the Republic Day celebrations in January and their meeting on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Italy in June, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had said then.

During the November 2024 meeting, the two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to advance the India-France Strategic Partnership as well as their shared vision for bilateral cooperation and international partnership, outlined in the Horizon 2047 roadmap and other bilateral declarations.

“The two leaders commended the strengthening of trade, investment, and technology ties, including in the areas of digital technology and Artificial Intelligence, as well as India France partnership on Digital Public Infrastructure,” the MEA said, adding, “In this context, Prime Minister welcomed the initiative of President Macron to organise the forthcoming AI Action Summit in France.”

To be hosted by France

EuroNews.com said last week that the AI Action Summit in France comes after the UK and South Korea hosted the first events on AI, gathering heads of state, international organisations as well as businesses.

“France’s AI Action Summit, to be held on 10 and 11 February, aims to present Europe as the 'leading AI continent,' Euronews said, quoting the minutes of the bloc's telecom attachés seen by it.

The AI summit, to be hosted by France at the Grand Palais in Paris, will convene Heads of State and Government, leaders of international organisations, CEOs from large and small companies, representatives from academia, NGOs, artists, and members of civil society.

The event will focus on five key themes: public interest in AI, the future of work, innovation and culture, trust in AI, and global AI governance.

(With agency inputs)