New Delhi/Rome, Oct 31 (IANS): Wide-ranging India-France Strategic Partnership and climate finance were among the issues Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed during a bilateral meeting with President of France, Emmanuel Macron at Rome, Italy, on Saturday.

Meeting on the sidelines of the G20 Leaders' Summit, the two leaders expressed satisfaction at the state of the wide-ranging India-France Strategic Partnership, a statement from the Prime Minister's Office said in New Delhi.

Prime Minister Modi also welcomed the European Union's Indo-Pacific Strategy, released in September 2021, and thanked the French President for France's leadership role in the same.

The two leaders also reaffirmed their commitment to cooperate in the Indo-Pacific and to find new and innovative ways to contribute towards a free, open and rules-based order in the region.

A day ahead of the COP26 - to begin on Sunday at Glasgow in the United Kingdom - the two leaders discussed the need to focus on issues of climate finance at the crucial COP meet.

The Prime Minister also invited President Macron to visit India at the earliest opportunity, the statement added.