New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday, February 17, held wide-ranging talks with French President Emmanuel Macron to boost ties in key sectors such as trade, defence, energy and critical technologies.
Macron landed in Mumbai early this morning on a three-day visit to attend the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi and meet PM Modi.
After the talks with Modi, Macron will attend a ceremony to launch the India-France Year of Innovation.
His visit comes days after India cleared a long-pending proposal to procure 114 Rafale fighter jets under a government-to-government framework with France.
It has been billed as one of the world’s biggest military procurement programmes in recent years.
It is learnt that shoring up defence cooperation and enhancing bilateral engagement in the critical technology sector are priority areas to take forward the ties.
“Welcome to India! India looks forward to your visit and to advancing our bilateral ties to new heights. I am confident that our discussions will further strengthen cooperation across sectors and contribute to global progress,” Modi said on social media earlier in the day in response to a post by Macron.
Macron kicks off India visit with morning jog at Mumbai’s Marine Drive
Hours after landing in Mumbai, Macron surprised morning walkers by jogging along Mumbai’s iconic Marine Drive.
Dressed in a navy blue athletic T-shirt, black shorts and running shoes, he almost blended into the morning crowd, while security personnel followed at a discreet distance.
In a refreshing start to his India visit and just before official meetings and tight schedules took over, the French President was seen jogging at a brisk pace.
Videos of his exercise regimen went viral after onlookers captured it in their smartphones.
Macron paid tributes to the 26/11 attack victims
The French President and First Lady Brigitte Macron, who landed in Mumbai shortly after midnight on Tuesday, also paid floral tributes to those killed in the November 2008 terror attack at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in south Mumbai.
As Macron kicked off the day with a jog at the Marine Drive promenade, Mumbai police also maintained tight security in the vicinity.
President Macron is on an official visit to India from February 17 to 19 at the invitation of PM Modi to participate in the AI Impact Summit hosted by India, as well as hold a bilateral summit with the latter in Mumbai.
This is President Macron’s fourth visit to India and his first visit to Mumbai.
