French President Macron meets Sushma Swaraj

Emmanuel Macron

French President Emmanuel Macron met External Affairs Minister (EAM) Sushma Swaraj here on Saturday, to discuss on further enhancement of ties in various sectors between India and France. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Raveesh Kumar took to Twitter and shared the moment of the two leaders. "A strategic partnership since 1998! EAM @SushmaSwaraj called on President of France @EmmanuelMacron and exchanged views on further enhancing our strategic partnership in trade & investment, defence & security, culture, education and people-to-people ties," he wrote on the micro-blogging site. Macron visited Rajghat, the memorial of Mahatma Gandhi and paid his tribute to the latter here on Saturday.

The French President was accompanied by his wife, Brigitte Macron and M.J. Akbar, the Minister of State for External Affairs, among other officials. President Macron signed the visitor's book and was presented with a bust of Mahatma Gandhi. Many foreign leaders have visited Rajghat and have paid their tributes to the 'Father of the Nation'. Earlier on Saturday, President Macron arrived at the Rashtrapati Bhawan and inspected a guard of honour. He met with his Indian counterpart Ram Nath Kovind, his wife Savita Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi respectively.

Prime Minister Modi and President Macron will hold delegation level talks in Delhi later in the day. During the talks, both the leaders are expected to review the progress achieved in bilateral relations and exchange views on regional and international issues of mutual interest. Several agreements are expected to be signed in various areas. Prime Minister Modi and President Macron will co-chair the International Solar Conference (ISA) on Sunday. The ISA, an alliance of more than 121 countries, was initiated by Prime Minister Modi in January 2016.

The primary objective of the alliance is to work for efficient exploitation of solar energy to reduce dependence on fossil fuels. The French President arrived here on Friday and was received at the airport by Prime Minister Modi in a special gesture. The visit aims at strengthening the bilateral economic, political and strategic dimension of engagement between the two countries. Besides, the visit is also aimed at forging not only strong manufacturing and technology partnerships but also greater people to people contacts.

The last visit of President Macron to India was in January 2016, when he was the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations. Prime Minister Modi had last visited France in June last year.

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