Kamal Ghorui
French President Emmanuel Macron and First Lady Brigitte Macron arrived in Mumbai on Tuesday for a three-day India visit till February 19.Macron is scheduled to meet PM Modi Tuesday afternoon, hold bilateral talks, and participate in the AI Impact Summit.
The French leader and his delegation were received at the airport by Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis, Governor Acharya Devvrat and deputy CMs Eknath Shinde and Sunetra Pawar.Fadnavis posted on X: “Bienvenue à Mumbai! A very warm welcome to the President of France, H.E. Emmanuel Macron and First Lady Brigitte Macron as they arrive in Mumbai! Maharashtra welcomes you! Wishing Hon President Macron and the entire French delegation a pleasant stay and a successful visit.”Before departure, Macron wrote on X: “En route to India! Three days from Mumbai to New Delhi to take our strategic partnership even further. On board with me: business leaders and the economic, industrial, cultural and digital players who give real, tangible life to the ties between India and France. Together, we will go even further in our cooperation. See you tomorrow, my dear friend @NarendraModi!”This is Macron’s fourth visit to India and his first to Mumbai, reflecting sustained momentum in the India-France strategic partnership.On Tuesday afternoon, PM Modi and Emmanuel Macron will hold bilateral talks at Lok Bhavan to review cooperation across defence, space, nuclear energy, climate, education and emerging technologies under the Horizon 2047 roadmap, with nearly a dozen agreements expected in defence, trade, skilling, health and supply chains.The leaders will jointly inaugurate the India-France Year of Innovation 2026, an initiative announced during Macron’s earlier engagements with PM Modi, including meetings in Paris in 2025 and his previous visits for the 2023 G20 Summit and the 2024 Republic Day celebrations. Later in the evening, they will attend the India-France Year of Innovation and Cultural Commemoration event at the Gateway of India and interact with business leaders, start-ups, researchers and innovators from both countries.The leaders will also exchange views on regional and global issues including the Indo-Pacific, the Russia-Ukraine war and Gaza, alongside cooperation in air and maritime domains under the Defence Industrial Roadmap agreed in 2024.The visit comes amid plans to deepen cooperation in artificial intelligence and emerging technologies. Macron will travel to New Delhi after the Mumbai engagements to attend the India AI Impact Summit 2026 at Bharat Mandapam from February 16 to 20, the first global AI summit hosted in the Global South. The summit is structured around three pillars — People, Planet and Progress — and follows PM Modi and Macron’s co-chairing of the AI Action Summit in Paris in February 2025.India and France are also set to advance defence cooperation during the visit, including discussions linked to India’s plan to procure 114 Rafale fighter jets from France under a government-to-government framework and the 6th Annual Defence Dialogue in Bengaluru expected to renew their defence cooperation agreement for another 10 years.Both leaders are expected to review progress on the India-France Roadmap on AI, launched during PM Modi’s visit to France.
