French President Macron’s BIG statement after meeting PM Modi on G20 sidelines in Johannesburg, says, ‘Long live the friendship…’

French President Emmanuel Macron expressed his 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.

Prime Minister Modi, on the other hand, described the meeting as a “delightful exchange” and said India-France relations remain a “force for global good”.

“I was delighted to meet President Macron during the G20 Summit in Johannesburg. We had an interesting exchange of views on different topics. India-France ties continue to be a force for global good!” PM Modi wrote to X.

Meanwhile, at the second session of the G20 Leaders Summit in Johannesburg, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday (local time) stressed the urgent need to strengthen international cooperation for disaster preparedness and response.

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

Prime Minister Modi said in his speech: “Natural disasters continue to pose a major challenge to humanity. This year too, they have affected a large section 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 established the Working Group on Disaster Risk Reduction during its G20 Presidency. I also congratulate South Africa for prioritizing this important agenda.”

Prime Minister Modi called for a shift from a “response-centric” to a “development-centric” approach to enhancing disaster resilience. Highlighting India’s belief that space technology should serve all humanity, he proposed a G20 Open Satellite Data Partnership to make satellite data from G20 space agencies more accessible and valuable, especially for the Global South.

(This story has not been edited by DNA staff and is published from ANI)