PM calls off meeting with French FM to focus on COVID-related engagements

Interaction considered important as Modi is due to visit France next month

As the COVID-19 cases continued to surge, French Foreign Minister Jean Yves Le Drian’s scheduled meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi had to be cancelled as part of an effort to deal with the crisis, sources said. On Monday, a press release issued by the French Embassy had said Mr. Drian would meet PM Modi after his bilateral consultations with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Tuesday. However, the meeting did not materialise on Tuesday or Wednesday, after which Mr. Drian was due to leave for meetings in Bengaluru. An official aware of the PM’s schedule told The Hindu that all such meetings over the next few days have been called off as Mr. Modi has to “focus on COVID-related meetings”. The new protocol could mean a general scaling back of the PM’s meetings with visiting dignitaries, including Maldives Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid and, if the crisis is extended, could cast a cloud on incoming and outgoing visits expected in the next few weeks, including the visit of U.K. Prime Minister expected on April 26, and Japanese PM Yoshihide Suga, who is due shortly after that.