Source : WION
French President Macron’s India visit: Major defence announcements on cards
A likely roadshow in the Indian city of Jaipur with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and key announcements on defence will be on the cards during the visit of French President Emmanuel Macron next week to India. President Macron has been invited to be the chief guest on Republic Day on January 26, an honour India reserves for countries with which it has close bilateral relations.
Defence has been a pivotal aspect of Indo-French relations. Following Prime Minister Modi’s visit to France last year, a 25-year roadmap was unveiled. It highlighted key initiatives, such as joint exploration for Indian submarine fleet development, French assistance in constructing the “Shakti Engine,” and collaborative efforts in the Indo-Pacific region.
French Rafale jets and a contingent from the French army are set to participate in this year’s Republic Day at Kartavya Path. Important to recall, that India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, was the Guest of Honour at the Bastille Day Parade in Paris last year. During the parade, Indian Air Force’s Rafale Jets, part of the 101 Squadron from Hashimara, featured in the flypast.
Additionally, a 269-member tri-services contingent from the Indian Armed Forces marched to the tune of “Sare Jahan Se Accha” at Champs-Élysées in Paris.
Macron’s most recent bilateral visit occurred in March 2018, encompassing New Delhi, Agra, Mirzapur, and Varanasi. The visit resulted in the signing of fourteen inter-governmental agreements, including one facilitating reciprocal logistics support between the respective Armed Forces. He again visited India in September of last year, to attend the G20 summit.
Preceding Macron’s visit, Emmanuel Bonne, the Diplomatic Advisor to the French President visited India. He engaged in bilateral discussions with his Indian counterparts, holding meetings with NSA Ajit Doval and External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar.
France holds a unique distinction as the only country to have received the highest number of invitations to India’s Republic Day parade. In 1976, French Prime Minister Jacques Chirac became the first-ever French leader to be invited as the chief guest for India’s Republic Day celebration.
Subsequent invitations were extended to French President Valéry Giscard d’Estaing in 1980, President Jacques Chirac in 1998, President Nicolas Sarkozy in 2008, and President François Hollande in 2016.
Earlier, the US Ambassador to India, Eric Garcetti, revealed to the media that India had invited President Joe Biden to be the chief guest at the Republic Day celebration. However, President Biden couldn’t fulfil the request, and the American side did not offer a specific reason for his inability to accept the invitation. Consequently, due to the US President’s unavailability to travel to Delhi, the scheduled Quad summit in the Indian capital had to be postponed.
