Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday concluded his three day visit to India with a “Thank You India!” message, after attending the India AI Impact Summit 2026 and holding bilateral talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.In a post on X, Macron shared a video of moments from his visit along with a note saying “Thank You India!”, appreciating the warm welcome he received during the trip.During the visit, Macron met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and interacted with global technology leaders, signalling deeper cooperation between Paris and New Delhi in artificial intelligence, innovation and strategic sectors.Addressing the India AI Impact Summit 2026, Macron began with a greeting that drew applause from the audience.“Namaste. Thank you very much for welcoming us to this magnificent city, in this magnificent country. It’s great to be back after my 2024 state visit for this Artificial Intelligence Impact Summit hosted by you, Prime Minister,” he said.Praising India’s digital transformation over the past decade, he said, “10 years ago, a street vendor in Mumbai could not open a bank account. No address, no papers, no access and today the same vendor accepts payments on his phone.”He added, “India built something that no other country in the world has built. A digital identity for 1.4 billion people. A payment system that now processes 20 billion transactions every month. A health infrastructure that has issued 500 million digital health IDs. Here are the results. They call it the India Stack Open Interoperable Sovereign.”On the sidelines of the summit, Macron met Google CEO Sundar Pichai and discussed digital cooperation and the priorities of the French G7 Presidency.“Solutions to our digital challenges are not found on Google, but built with Google and all stakeholders. At the Delhi AI Summit, together with Sundar Pichai, we discussed the priorities of the French G7 Presidency. And I shared one message: Choose France!” Macron posted on X.Pichai responded, “With its leadership of the G7, France has a pivotal role to play in unlocking the opportunities of AI, and we are proud to be a partner.”Macron also held talks with Meta’s chief AI officer Alexandr Wang.“Constructive discussions with Alexandr Wang from Meta at the Delhi AI Summit. We discussed what France has to offer: talent, research, and data centres. In two words: Choose France!” he wrote.“We also reviewed measures to protect young people on social media, in particular the proposal I support to ban access for those under 15. Good news: Meta is committed to moving forward with us,” he added.On the broader India France partnership, Macron said ties were at their strongest.“And as for the bilateral relationship, I really believe it’s at the highest point, and we want to do much more again because it’s based on our relationship,” he said.Prime Minister Narendra Modi also held a bilateral meeting with Macron in the capital on the sidelines of the summit.Macron described India’s progress in digital governance and technology as a global benchmark, underlining continued momentum in the India France strategic partnership with a focus on artificial intelligence and emerging technologies.
