FM Sitharaman hails Indian diaspora, scientists during France visit

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman lauded the Indian diaspora in France for strengthening India's global image and bilateral ties while praising Indian scientists, engineers and industry partners contributing to one of the world's most ambitious nuclear fusion projects during her official visit to the country.
Addressing members of the Indian community at a gathering in Marseille, Sitharaman described the diaspora as a "formidable force" that enhances India's soft power, international standing and people-to-people ties with France, according to the Finance Ministry.

Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Smt. @nsitharaman delivers the keynote address to the Indian diaspora at a gathering being held at Marseille, France, today. Later, the Union Finance Minister also interacted with the members of the Indian diaspora.… pic.twitter.com/IHMnEbSiz8

— Ministry of Finance (@FinMinIndia) July 4, 2026

According to media reports, following her keynote address, the Finance Minister interacted with members of the Indian community, acknowledging their contributions across diverse sectors and their role in fostering closer India-France relations.As part of her visit, Sitharaman also met Indian professionals from Larsen & Toubro (L&T) working on the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) project in Cadarache, southern France.
ITER is a major international scientific collaboration aimed at building the world's largest experimental tokamak nuclear fusion reactor. The project brings together seven member partners, including India, to demonstrate the feasibility of fusion as a safe, sustainable and virtually limitless source of clean energy.During her visit to the ITER facility, Sitharaman received a presentation on India's contribution to the project from Alain Becoulet and Kattalai Ramachandran Sriram. She was also given a guided tour of the facility, including the Cleaning Hall, Assembly Hall and the Tokamak Pit, where the reactor is being assembled.

Sitharaman appreciated the commitment of engineers and scientists working on the ITER experiment, describing it as one of the most ambitious nuclear fusion energy projects globally and an important step towards developing sustainable clean energy for future generations.She also commended the contributions of Indian scientists, engineers and industry partners, including L&T, Inox India, TCS, Tata Consulting Engineers (TCE) and HCL Technologies, which have been associated with the project over the past two decades.
Earlier during her visit, Sitharaman co-chaired the India-France Economic and Financial Dialogue (EFD) with France's Minister of Economy, Finance, Industrial, Energy and Digital Sovereignty, Roland Lescure, in Aix-en-Provence.According to the Finance Ministry, the two sides discussed expanding bilateral cooperation in critical minerals, economic sovereignty, security policies and strengthening financial sector linkages as India and France continue to deepen their strategic and economic partnership.