At the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, French President Emmanuel Macron will pay an official visit to India from February 17 to 19, the Ministry of External Affairs announced on Tuesday.During the visit, Modi and Macron will hold wide-ranging discussions on advancing bilateral cooperation under the Horizon 2047 roadmap — a long-term framework adopted in 2023 to steer ties through the centenary of India’s Independence, 100 years of diplomatic relations and 50 years of the strategic partnership.Official sources told The Tribune that the two leaders will hold bilateral talks in Mumbai on February 17. Regional and global issues, including cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, defence and security, and emerging technologies, are expected to figure prominently in the discussions.Besides, they will jointly inaugurate the India–France Year of Innovation, to be celebrated across both countries through 2026. The initiative is aimed at strengthening collaboration in critical sectors such as artificial intelligence, digital public infrastructure, space, clean energy and advanced manufacturing. On February 19, Macron will participate in the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi.The visit comes close on the heels of Modi’s trip to France in February-2025 and follows a series of high-level engagements between the two leaders, including Macron’s State Visit to India as Chief Guest at the 75th Republic Day celebrations in January 2024.Officials said the sustained political engagement reflects a high degree of mutual trust and strategic alignment. India and France share a long-standing Strategic Partnership, launched in 1998, with defence and security, civil nuclear cooperation and space as its core pillars.France is a key partner in India’s defence modernisation efforts and has consistently supported New Delhi’s bid for permanent membership of a reformed UN Security Council.In recent years, the partnership has expanded to include maritime security, counter-terrorism, climate action, clean energy, digital and cyber cooperation, and people-to-people exchanges, with a strong Indo-Pacific orientation.President Macron’s visit is expected to lend fresh political momentum to the Horizon-2047 roadmap and further consolidate the multi-dimensional India–France partnership.
