India Launches Sharp Reply To Trump's Comment, Clarifies Position On US-Iran War | Vikram Misri

[00:00:00]We've been in very close contact with Iran as well with the Iranian authorities. The prime minister has spoken to the Iranian president on at least two occasions. Uh we are not a party to the conflict. There are u ways in which we can contribute through our engagement whether it is with Iran or with Israel. Uh we would be ready uh to do that. Yesterday whether India has arrived on the global stage in the last 12 years. You know, when I last checked, India has been on the global stage for the last 7,000 years.

[00:00:46]Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god.

[00:00:49]>> Okay. OKAY. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. ALL RIGHT.

[00:00:51]ALL RIGHT.

[00:01:04]>> And thank you for joining this uh briefing. Uh let me just uh uh do a attempt to do a wrap-up of the uh prime minister's visit to uh France uh these recent uh days. Of course, as you know, uh during this visit, he also traveled to Slovakia. Uh my colleague has already uh briefed uh the media on that. So I will focus on the visit here uh in France. And as I had said earlier as well, this is a visit that took place uh in three phases. Uh it began in Nice uh on the 14th of June. Uh it then continued in Evo on the 16th and 17th uh of June for the G7 and G7 outreach uh meetings and it is concluding here today in uh Paris.

[00:02:03]uh if I were to characterize the themes of uh this visit uh I would say that uh it revolves around uh the three interconnected themes of trade technology and uh regional and international uh security.

[00:02:23]Um on the technology front uh to begin with that uh I would say the technology aspect essentially bookends this visit.

[00:02:34]It began in Nice with a major technology event. It ends in Paris today with the prime minister attending another major technology event. Uh in Nice uh prime minister and president Macron today uh together uh launched Bhat Innovates. Um I've had the opportunity to uh speak about it uh in some detail in Nice itself uh on the 14th uh launching a flagship uh initiative uh to project uh the skill and the abilities of deep tech Indian startups uh on the global stage and connecting them to their peers, other global inventors and innovators as well as global capital and uh venture funds. Uh it's been a very successful beginning. Uh as you are aware more than 120 Indian deep tech startups took part uh in that event and uh there is uh a sense that this is something that can easily go to other parts of the world and we are already working on this idea of taking Bat Innovates to uh other major technology events uh around uh the world and uh we made a beginning right here in Vivate and uh There was a Bat Innovates pavilion as part of the Indian pavilion at uh Vivate. Uh as well uh at uh in u uh Paris uh today as I said the uh prime minister uh participated uh in the Vivate event.

[00:04:18]India was the um uh AI uh country of uh focus at this year's edition uh of uh Vivate uh and uh the AI country partner uh at Vivate uh this year and Prime Minister uh once again uh emphasized and underlined not just the uh kind of uh innovation that was underway way uh in the technology sphere uh in uh India uh but also what it meant to deploy technology at scale in such a large uh country. uh and in this context uh the vision that uh India was putting before the world at least in so far as artificial intelligence is concerned which is a transformational technology and which must be technology that is at the service of humanity rather than humanity being somehow becoming subservient uh to uh technology.

[00:05:24]So that was the the tech aspect of uh the uh visit. The trade aspect uh of this uh is uh could be seen uh at Evong.

[00:05:35]uh as a matter of fact in the multiple bilateral meetings that the prime minister had uh and if I can cite uh just four of those uh meetings and the uh progress that was registered as well as reinforced at each one of these meetings with the UK uh as you are aware uh both the prime minister and the prime minister of uh the United Kingdom uh announced the uh date for the entry into force of the India UK comprehensive uh economic uh and uh trade uh agreement which was signed last year uh between uh in the presence of the two prime ministers in the UK and will enter into force from the 15th of July uh 2026.

[00:06:26]So uh major major development in so far as uh bilateral uh relations with a major trading partner are uh concerned uh with uh Canada. Uh prime minister as you're aware held a bilateral meeting with the uh prime minister of Canada and the two leaders uh gave instructions to their teams to conclude the negotiations on a uh comprehensive economic partnership agreement by the end of the year. Uh you're aware that our commerce minister had recently visited Canada and uh discussions have already started on this. The two prime ministers have uh registered and and uh a desire to to uh put these negotiations on the fast track and see if we can get a separated by uh the end of the year. uh with the European Union uh the prime minister met uh jointly with uh both with uh uh European Commission President uh Mrs. Osula Fondonder and the uh European Council President uh uh Mr. Antonio Koshta and uh they uh recalled the fact that uh discussions on an India EU FDA uh the negotiations the announcement of the conclusion of negotiations uh happened earlier this year when the two leaders were visiting uh New Delhi and uh the understanding that by the end of the year uh before the end of the year uh the agreement will be signed uh and this is something that came up in their meeting in Evian on the sidelines of the G7 meetings and they once again uh reaffirmed uh their desire and instructed the respective teams to do whatever was necessary to make uh this uh signing happen before uh the end of the year. So that's the third major trade related development. And last one I would say uh and by no means least is uh with the United States where we have made significant progress already on the conclusion of an interim free trade uh bilateral trade agreement uh and uh we are uh in the final stages of uh concluding that agreement. Next uh week in fact the United States trade representative Mr. Jameson Greer will be visiting India to take forward these discussions. And in the bilateral meeting between uh Prime Minister and President Donald Trump yesterday in Evian, this was a major subject of discussion. Both leaders once again uh gave instructions for uh these uh for this agreement to be uh to be concluded uh at the earliest possible. So you can see uh the the uh trade aspect uh as a major uh major focus uh of uh this uh visit and uh it carried on in a sense uh today uh in uh Paris uh to just bring you up to date with prime minister's engagements uh here. Uh he began the day by meeting four leading French uh CEOs.

[00:09:33]uh these included uh Mr. Arthur Mench the co-founder and chief executive officer of Mistral uh AI uh Mr. Mr. Benoa Baza chairman and CEO of Sango Bank uh Mr. Martin Seion, chief executive officer of ALSTOM uh and Rodolf Sad, the chairman and CEO of the CMCJM uh group. uh the uh French leaders uh corporate leaders uh all of whom have uh significant association with India already uh expressed their strong confidence uh in uh India's rapidly growing uh economy and expressed their readiness to expand their local footprints uh and deepen uh their uh presence and their partnership uh with uh India.

[00:10:26]Uh so uh the that's the first two themes uh technology and trade. Uh let me come to uh the final one which is uh regional and uh global security related issues.

[00:10:40]These essentially came up in several bilateral meetings uh at uh Evan on the sidelines of uh G7. Uh these were obviously also a significant uh subject of discussion at uh the meetings themselves uh that the G7 and G7 outreach leaders uh had uh in uh Evoong and uh uh of course the focus was on uh the uh situation in West Asia. You're all aware of the uh developments related to uh that subject and uh in his meetings with his counterparts and also in his interventions at uh the G7 uh prime minister expressed uh once again uh uh India's uh desire to see uh sustained peace and security in this region. Uh India welcomed the developments uh that have taken place uh through the understanding that has been reached between the United States and uh Iran and hopes to see a rapid return uh to peace and stability uh in this region. We have always emphasized the importance of maintaining the freedom of navigation and unimpeded commerce uh through the international waterways uh in the region. uh prime minister uh specifically uh emphasized the issue of the safety and security of seafares. uh he noted how uh hundreds of thousands of Indian seafarers uh essentially provide a global public good by serving on uh maritime platforms that serve the global community and serve global maritime trade uh in a big way and why therefore their uh safety and security uh should be uh a common concern of the global community and this is something that he voiced not just in his intervention at the G7 seven uh summit outreach meetings but also in his bilateral meetings with uh several lead several leaders. Uh just a quick word before I close about the G7 meetings uh themselves. uh these uh this was uh I think prime minister's seventh uh appearance at uh these G7 uh meetings and here of course the for the outreach uh countries the emphasis was uh in the different sessions on uh new partnerships and international solidarity on a global scale uh issues related to macroeconomic uh imbalances.

[00:13:20]uh India took part in u discussions on all the priorities that were outlined by the French presidency of the G7 and in fact we endorsed uh if I recall correctly at least three of the documents coming out of uh this G7 summit and these uh related to uh G7 documents on outcomes on cancer research uh on uh the response to the Ebola outbreak uh in Africa uh and on the need to ensure ure uh safe digital spaces for uh miners. So these are at least three of the outcome documents from the G7 summit that India uh endorsed and these as I said were important priorities of the French uh G7 uh presidency. As I said, uh there was an uh there was a session that was dedicated to artificial intelligence uh as well at the G7 summit and the prime minister uh spoke uh in that session outlining how India uh figured as a provider of solutions uh at scale uh in uh this uh context and as I mentioned earlier as well how India stood for a humanentric and inclusive ive approach to uh global uh growth. Uh he also uh referred in his other uh interventions to uh the idea of the creation of an international mobilization partnership for accelerating connectivity and trade impact uh and the responsibility of international financial institutions to help uh countries especially those in the global south to build their uh economic resilience especially at a time of unprecedented uh global uh disruption.

[00:15:10]So all in all I would say this has been an extremely uh productive and fruitful uh visit uh and there have been several substantial outcomes and we've seen a number of our uh important objectives being reinforced through the discussions uh throughout uh this particular visit.

[00:15:28]Um I think the first question here uh Lumus especially your um uh contention that uh following the meeting yesterday whether India has arrived on the global stage in the last 12 years. You know when I last checked India has been on the global stage for the last 7,000 years. So I'm not sure uh what exactly uh a particular meeting will or will not do about that presence but let me assure you we are very very much present on the global stage for a very very long period of uh time. Uh, Brahm Praash meeting or Rajati Trump multilateral events leaders G7 leaders meeting out or pressurers.

[00:18:12]bilateral trade agreement instruction.

[00:18:27]US tradece minister.

[00:18:37]France Karasha Karakpati Beach.

[00:19:05]issues.

[00:19:19]Um, Mega on your question related to uh issues u in the uh discussions between uh the prime minister and the president.

[00:19:31]Uh I think you need to take into account the fact that this was a brief uh meeting on the sidelines of an of a major multilateral event. uh the structure of these meetings is not such where every single issue uh is uh necessarily going to uh come up or uh is going to be discussed in uh detail. Our concerns on all of the issues and our views on all of the issues that you mentioned are well known and they are equally well known to our American partners as well. Uh there were some important issues and urgent issues that uh needed to be uh discussed yesterday.

[00:20:11]uh notably as I said about the uh trade agreement which uh is something that has uh created a certain amount of uncertainty over the past year or so uh between the two countries and it was important that we move forward to a to some kind of certainty uh on on these issues and therefore that is what uh occupied some amount of uh time uh to Adi's question on um the India, UK, FDA.

[00:20:43]Um, but now that a uh date for entry into force uh has been announced, uh I am sure that uh businesses on both sides have been gearing up for uh some time to uh get into this. The UK is one of our largest uh trading uh partners, an important technology partner. uh and this agreement is about more than just trade and uh technology uh as well. it it uh speaks to mobility between the two countries as well. And I think these are these open very important doors uh for people in uh in both uh countries and uh businesses in both countries have actually been uh quite eager uh to have the agreement enter into force uh at an early date so that they can roll out the plans that they have been making for some point uh of time. uh in so far as the uh issue of uh the interdiction of uh a vessel uh by UK authorities is uh concerned. Uh we are aware of these developments. Our mission in uh the United Kingdom is in touch with the concerned UK authorities and we'll follow up uh with them on uh the next steps that need to be taken to address uh this uh situation. Uh finally uh Gotham um with regard to the deal in West Asia. Look the points that you've made about the stance of uh Israel and uh the issues that uh relate to other parties other than just the United States and uh Iran. Uh these are important issues. They did figure in the conversations u in the uh around the larger G7 table as well as in the bilateral uh conversations between various uh leaders and uh it is natural to uh have uh concerns about uh something that uh has been uh concluded but we don't yet know as to how exactly uh things will unfold uh on the ground.

[00:22:55]As I said, we all uh uh expect uh that it will lead to sustained peace and stability uh in the region. Uh India has always uh advocated the path of uh dialogue and diplomacy to settle uh conflicts uh such as these and we have always also expressed our readiness to contribute in any manner that we can. We have very strong relationships with uh all of the countries uh in the region.

[00:23:26]Most of the protagonists who are involved in one way or the other or who have been affected by the conflict have been in very close touch with them throughout this uh conflict. We've also participated in a number of u uh meetings and forums that have been convened to address different aspects of uh this conflict and the situation that might arise uh once the conflict is is over. uh we remain in very close touch with with all of those partners and and we will be ready uh to do uh whatever it is uh whatever it is possible for us to uh do in so far as addressing the next steps are is concerned.

[00:24:06]>> We have a question there please.

[00:24:08]>> Uh thanks foreign secretary this is Nicholas Roa from Radio France International. Just to follow up on what my colleague asked about the situation around Iran. As you mentioned, Israel doesn't seem to be willing to be a part of the of the deal. India is one of the major defense partner of the country.

[00:24:25]Has there been any consideration uh to try to push this close ally to uh maybe make more uh significant steps towards peace? And my second question comes on IMC. It's a project that has been mentioned by Prime Minister Modi and President Mron already when Prime Minister Modi came in Marseilles a while ago three years ago I believe and um as Prime Minister Modi met Mr. Sad from CMS I was wondering if there were any updates or significant uh evolution on on that topic.

[00:24:59]>> Mhm.

[00:25:00]>> Mhm.

[00:25:03]>> So I think we don't have any more questions.

[00:25:05]>> Okay. All right. Uh well look uh um we uh uh have uh a good relationship with uh Israel and uh as I said uh throughout this conflict uh we have been in touch with various parties. We've been in very close contact with Iran as well with the Iranian authorities. The prime minister has spoken to the Iranian president on at least two occasions uh during the time that this conflict was on. the foreign minister, our external affairs minister has been in touch with his Iranian counterpart on several occasions during the time uh the conflict was on and as uh you know we we have always also been in touch with uh our our Israeli uh counterparts. Uh having said that uh we are not a party to the conflict and uh we uh would leave it to the parties to the conflict to uh decide how to arrive at arrangements to terminate the conflict to end the conflict and to find a road map after that for a path uh forward. uh now that we are uh at the beginning of uh such a path uh if there are uh ways in which we can contribute through our engagement whether it is with Iran or with Israel uh we would be ready uh to do that and those conversations are ongoing I cannot preview or prejudge those at this uh point in time uh in so far as I is concerned uh you're right prime minister had visited the port of Ma it was in February last year uh when he was uh here in 2025 and uh the uh discussions today uh uh were more with regard to the the business uh interests uh of uh the company. But IMC is a a project uh and an initiative in which I would imagine uh not just CM but also other French companies and French entities would be uh interested in. uh it is uh something that uh in a sense I would say that uh even in the context of the conflict that has just taken place uh it is something that assumes a lot of importance and it's uh important that uh all of the partners both India and France are original signaries of the uhou that led to the creation of uh IMC and uh we have stayed in close touch with our French counterparts on this. France has a special envoy Mr. Jerard Mrav for IMC and I have met him in the past. My other colleagues have been in touch with him and we remain in close touch to see how to take uh our discussions forward and uh develop a consensus on uh the roll out of IMC on the ground in the coming uh years. Thank you.

[00:28:02]So maybe the final um since it's the last leg of the search relationship as it goes now you said technology bookends the visit what are the other areas you see the relationship progress >> look uh the India France relationship I would characterize it as uh one of our strongest uh bilateral relationships on the global scale uh it is uh a relationship ship that is uh present in some of the most uh important areas of our national uh endeavor. Uh if you if I off the uh uh top of my mind if I recall just three areas the defense uh area, the nuclear area and the space area.

[00:28:56]These are all areas in which there is a history of very close and fruitful collaboration between the two countries and are also areas where there is active collaboration and discussions ongoing as we as we speak. Beyond that I think uh there is a lot of um alignment in uh uh I won't say every single view uh but a lot of our our uh views uh on the global scale certainly in multilateral organizations and on a lot of regional issues uh India and France have very very similar uh approaches and finally I would say France is a resident power in the Indo-Pacific and uh that creates another uh very rich uh vein of possibilities for India and France to to uh cooperate uh with each other and uh I think uh you see that uh vibrancy reflected on a daily basis in our relationship uh between uh between the two uh countries.