India and France Strengthen Strategic Partnership During Finance Minister's Four-Day Visit Starting July 1, 2026

Key facts

• Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman commenced a four-day official visit to France on July 1, 2026, to strengthen economic cooperation and the India-France Strategic Partnership.
• The Finance Minister will co-chair the India-France Economic and Financial Dialogue (EFD) in Aix-en-Provence alongside Roland Lescure, the French Minister of Economy, Finance and Industrial and Energy Sovereignty.
• Nirmala Sitharaman is scheduled to participate in a panel discussion titled How to Promote the Growth of a New Middle Class at the annual Les Rencontres Économiques d'Aix-en-Provence forum.
• The visit includes a tour of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) project at Cadarache, which is a global scientific collaboration on nuclear fusion involving India.
• The Finance Minister will visit Campus Cyber, the national hub for cybersecurity in France, and meet Renaud Muselier, President of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (PACA) Region.