PM reaches Paris for Bastille Day parade
By IANSMonday, July 13, 2009
PARIS - Prime Minister Manmohan Singh arrived in Paris Monday night to attend the French National Day parade as chief guest, the first foreign leader to be accorded the honour.
The honour reciprocates India’s gesture of inviting French President Nicolas Sarkozy as chief guest for its Republic Day parade in January this year, said French envoy to India Jerome Bonnanfont.
Sarkozy will be hosting a working lunch for Manmohan Singh Tuesday during which the two leaders will hold talks on a range of bilateral and global issues.
Manmohan Singh leaves after that for the Egyptian town of Sharm-el-Sheikh, where he will attend the 15th Non Aligned Movement (NAM) summit on Wednesday. He is expected to meet his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani on the sidelines of the summit.
