French envoy congratulates PM Modi: Will 'work closely' with India

Alexandre Ziegler, the ambassador of France to India, on Thursday congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi shortly after the oath-taking ceremony here and said that his country is looking forward to work closely with India.

"Heartfelt congratulations to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the new cabinet ministers on your oath-taking ceremony!" Ziegler tweeted.

"France looks forward to working closely with India in the coming years to promote a safer, cleaner and more prosperous world for future generations," the ambassador added.

Narendra Modi, who got a massive mandate in the elections, on Thursday took oath as Prime Minister again for a second consecutive term inducting confidant and BJP President Amit Shah into his Cabinet along with the surprise inclusion of former Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar, while retaining most of his earlier Cabinet ministers and dropping seniors like Suresh Prabhu, Maneka Gandhi and Radha Mohan Singh.

Riding high on the planks of muscular nationalism and anti-Congressism, BJP, which had won 282 seats in 2014, improved its tally by notching up 303 seats. Along with its NDA allies, the number swelled to 353 in the 543-member Lower House of the Parliament.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister is expected to hold bilateral meetings on Friday morning with leaders of five countries.

-ANI