Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Sunday, 14 June declared that India is actively repositioning itself as the world's trusted innovation partner, urging deeper global collaboration in emerging and frontier technologies. Speaking at the inauguration of the Bharat Innovates summit in Nice, France, Goyal outlined a vision that goes beyond domestic ambition — one aimed at making India a co-creator in the global technology order.

India's Innovation Pitch to the World

Addressing startups, investors, entrepreneurs, technology leaders, and policymakers gathered at the summit, Goyal drew a distinction between the event's stated theme and its deeper purpose. 'While the theme of Bharat Innovates is a global accelerator for India's education system, the real spirit is to concretise our efforts to be the world's innovation partner,' he said.

He framed the moment as historically significant, noting that geopolitical uncertainty and the rapid churn of frontier technology are converging simultaneously. 'We are meeting at a moment of uncertainty when the churn in the world of geopolitics is meeting the churn of frontier technology,' Goyal observed.

India-France Strategic Ties in Focus

The minister highlighted the deepening bilateral relationship between India and France, pointing out that ties were elevated to a Special Global Strategic Partnership in 2026 — the same year being celebrated as the India-France Year of Innovation. He noted that both nations have been actively shaping global conversations around innovation and artificial intelligence.

Goyal recalled that Prime Minister Narendra Modi co-chaired the AI Action Summit in Paris in February 2025, while French President Emmanuel Macron participated in the AI Impact Summit in India in February 2026 — a reciprocal engagement that underscores the growing technology axis between the two democracies.

A Direct Invitation to French Investors

In a pointed appeal to French industry and investors, Goyal extended a direct invitation: 'I would invite our French friends to visit India, invest in India, design in India, innovate in India, and manufacture in India, both for the large domestic market and export from India to the rest of the world.'

The call-to-action aligns with India's broader industrial strategy of attracting global capital while building domestic manufacturing capacity — a dual objective that has defined the Centre's economic outreach over the past several years.

Summit Jointly Inaugurated by Modi and Macron

The Bharat Innovates summit was jointly inaugurated by Prime Minister Modi and President Macron, lending significant diplomatic weight to an event otherwise focused on startup ecosystems and cross-border investment. The gathering brings together participants from India, France, and other countries to explore new avenues for innovation, investment, and collaboration.

As India seeks to diversify its global technology partnerships amid shifting geopolitical alignments, the Nice summit marks a concrete step toward translating diplomatic goodwill into investable, innovation-driven outcomes.