Macron, Modi meets at G20, says ‘long live Indo-French friendship’

By Anjali Sharma

WASHINGTON – French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday expressed gratitude and reaffirmed the strength of India-France relations after his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the 2025 G20 Summit in Johannesburg.

“Thank you, my friend, dear Narendra Modi. Nations are stronger when they move forward together. Long live the friendship between our countries!” Macron wrote on X.

Modi described the meeting as a “delightful exchange” and said that India-France ties remain a “force for global good.”

“Delighted to meet President Macron during the Johannesburg G20 Summit. We had an engaging exchange on different issues. India-France ties remain a force for global good!” PM Modi wrote on X.

Modi stressed the urgent need to enhance international cooperation for disaster preparedness and response.

He pointed to the rising frequency and impact of natural disasters worldwide, described them as a major challenge for humanity.

PM noted that India had established the Disaster Risk Reduction Working Group during its 2023 G20 presidency to strengthen global collaboration in this area and commended South Africa for prioritising the issue.

“Natural disasters continue to pose a major challenge to humanity. This year as well, they have impacted a large portion of the global population. These events clearly highlight the need to strengthen international cooperation for effective disaster preparedness and response. To support this idea, India formed the Disaster Risk Reduction Working Group during its G20 Presidency. I also congratulate South Africa for giving priority to this important agenda,” PM Modi said during his address.

Modi called for a shift from a “response-centric” to a “development-centric” approach to building disaster resilience.

He highlighted India’s belief that space technology should serve all of humanity, he proposed a G20 Open Satellite Data Partnership to make satellite data from G20 space agencies more accessible and valuable, particularly for the Global South.