Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami shared a live broadcast on Thursday, 18 June 2026, amplifying Prime Minister Narendra Modi's participation at VivaTech 2026 in Paris, France, drawing attention to one of Europe's largest technology and innovation exhibitions.

Context

VivaTech is an annual technology and startup exhibition held in Paris that brings together global innovators, venture investors and political leaders to discuss digital transformation and emerging technologies. PM Modi's participation places India at the centre of one of the world's most prominent technology diplomacy stages. CM Dhami's post, shared at 6:19 PM IST, linked directly to the live broadcast, signalling the BJP's coordinated amplification of the Prime Minister's international engagements.

Policy Backdrop

India and France formalised their Strategic Partnership in 1998, a relationship that has since expanded well beyond its original defence and nuclear pillars to encompass space, digital infrastructure and emerging technologies. PM Modi has made technology diplomacy a cornerstone of India's foreign policy, using platforms such as VivaTech to project the country's digital economy and startup ecosystem to global investors. Flagship domestic programmes including Digital India (launched 2015), Startup India (launched 2016) and Make in India (announced 2014) provide the substantive content that India showcases at such international forums, positioning the country as a destination for foreign direct investment in technology and manufacturing.

Stakeholders and Impact

India's presence at VivaTech 2026 is of direct relevance to Indian tech startups seeking European market access, global venture capital firms evaluating India-facing investment opportunities, and India-France joint ventures active in sectors such as artificial intelligence, fintech and green technologies. The European Union remains a significant trade and investment partner for India, and high-level appearances at Paris-based forums reinforce India's positioning within both EU and Indo-Pacific strategic frameworks. For Uttarakhand, whose government under CM Dhami has actively courted technology investment through its own investor summits, visibility in such international conversations carries indirect economic significance as well.

What's Next

Observers will watch for follow-up bilateral technology agreements or investment announcements emerging from the India-France strategic dialogue that typically accompanies such high-profile visits. Future editions of VivaTech and potential parliamentary updates on digital economy pacts between the two nations will be key indicators of how the relationship evolves. India's sustained engagement with European technology platforms suggests that such appearances will remain a recurring feature of its foreign policy calendar.