Mumbai, Feb 17: Prime Minister Narendra Modi met French President Emmanuel Macron at Lok Bhavan on Tuesday afternoon for high-level bilateral engagements, reviewing the robust India-France strategic partnership and exploring diversification into defence, AI, space, nuclear energy, and climate domains as per the 2024 Defence Industrial Roadmap.
Macron, on his fourth visit to India—and first to Mumbai—at PM Modi’s invitation for a three-day trip (Feb 17-19), arrived with First Lady Brigitte Macron and was received by Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis and other dignitaries amid tightened VIP security.
The leaders will later inaugurate the India-France Year of Innovation 2026, addressing innovators, startups, and business leaders, before Macron heads to New Delhi for the India AI Impact Summit (Feb 16-20)—the first global AI event hosted in the Global South—focusing on People, Planet, and Progress pillars.
Talks also cover Rafale deals, trade expansion, Indo-Pacific cooperation, and global challenges, with over Rs 20,000 crore investments anticipated, cementing ties between the two nations.
