Finance
FRENCH President Emmanuel Macron will visit India as the Chief Guest for the 75th Republic Day celebrations, the Ministry of External Affairs announced on Friday, only days after it was revealed that US Vice President Joe Biden would be unavailable.
This will be the sixth time a French leader has served as the R-Day Chief Guest.
In New Delhi, the choice of guest has been influenced by a combination of strategic and diplomatic imperatives that merge business, global geopolitics, and bilateral interaction.
“As Strategic Partners, India and France share a high degree of convergence on a range of regional and global issues. This year, we are celebrating the 25th anniversary of the India-France Strategic Partnership. The Prime Minister was the Guest of Honour at the Bastille Day Parade held on 14 July 2023 in Paris. President Macron visited India for the G-20 Summit on 8-9 September 2023,” the MEA said, while announcing the confirmation of the visit.
While Macron last visited India during the G20 summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi stopped in Paris on his way back from Denmark on May 4, 2022, to meet President Macron, becoming the first world leader to meet the French President after he was elected to a second term on April 17, 2022.
After Washington said Biden was unavailable, New Delhi was forced to rush to find a replacement. According to sources, Indian Ambassador to France Javed Ashraf, who has formed a good rapport with the French Presidency, swung the confirmation in a short period of time.
The invitation from India to France reflects – and reaffirms – the depth of the bilateral relationship.
According to officials, India and France have had 75 years of close and friendly relations since the beginning of diplomatic ties in June 1948.
India and France advanced their diplomatic connection to Strategic Partnership in 1998, which will celebrate its 25th anniversary in January 2023.
According to officials, this Strategic Partnership, France’s first outside the EU, has been crucial in the comprehensive evolution of the India-France relationship.
According to an official, the Strategic Partnership’s main pillars include cooperation in the fields of defense and security, space, and civil nuclear affairs.
India and France are expanding their bilateral, trilateral, and plurilateral collaboration in sectors such as maritime security in the Indo-Pacific region, digitalization, cyber security, and advanced computing, counter-terrorism, climate change, renewables, and sustainable growth among others, officials said.
“Both countries share a high degree of convergence on a range of regional and global issues. France has continued to support India’s claim for a permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council and the reforms of the United Nations,” an official said.
France’s support was vital in India’s accession to the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), Wassenaar Arrangement (WA) and Australia Group (AG). France also continues to support India’s bid for accession to the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).
India was instrumental in France’s membership in the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), and France encouraged India to join the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC) as an observer country.
India and France have continuously condemned terrorism and resolved to collaborate in the UN to ratify the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT). Following the Pulwama assault (February 2019), France stood firm in its support for India and nationalized the Pakistan-based “global terrorist” Hafiz Saeed, which was followed by a UN listing. France backed India’s request to the UN Security Council’s 1267 sanctions committee to prevent Pakistan from enlisting Indian citizens.
Macron and Modi have spoken frequently in recent years, and met in November last year on the margins of the G20 summit in Bali, and again in May this year on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Hiroshima.
Modi and Macron virtually attended the inauguration event of the new relationship between Air India and Airbus on February 14, 2023, when Air India signed a Letter of Interest to acquire a fleet of 250 aircraft from Airbus.
Macron paid a State visit to India in March 2018.
Source:IE
