Modi out to woo investors on first Europe trip

New Delhi

PRIME Minister Narendra Modi will take his push to turn thriving India into a major manufacturing and investment hub to the eurozone's two biggest economies this week on his maiden visit to the continent.

Mr Modi flies out on Thursday to France, whose government is desperate to save a troubled US$12 billion defence deal, before heading to Germany to inaugurate one of the world's biggest trade fairs. He will also visit Canada at the end of the three-nation trip, home to a large Indian diaspora.