Emmanuel Macron’s India visit: How New Delhi’s ties with Paris have stood the test of time

French president Emmanuel Macron, who is India’s Republic Day chief guest, has landed in Rajasthan’s Jaipur today (25 January). He is set to visit several heritage sites and take part in a roadshow in the Pink City later in the day, where he will be joined by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. With Macron’s visit , New Delhi and Paris are aiming to strengthen their strategic partnership. Both nations have had cordial and robust ties for decades.

#WATCH | French President Emmanuel Macron arrives in Jaipur, Rajasthan as part of his two-day State visit to India. He will also attend the Republic Day Parade 2024 as the Chief Guest. pic.twitter.com/4zYFGZuVfu

— ANI (@ANI) January 25, 2024

Let’s take a closer look at the relationship between India and France. A brief history of India-France ties India and France have had diplomatic relations since 1947. The counties upgraded their ties and commenced a strategic partnership in 1998. France was among the nations that did not join the United States-led move to sanction India over its nuclear tests conducted in Pokhran in May 1998. As per The Hindu, India and France’s ties stand on three pillars: a belief in strategic autonomy, non-interference in each other’s internal affairs and non-alignment. “France was the first country to recognise the strategic importance of India after the nuclear tests in 1998. The partnership with France is India’s most important strategic partnership in Europe. It is one of the rare such partnerships that India has that is marked by total convergence,” Mohan Kumar, who was India’s Ambassador to France from 2015 to 2017, told Indian Express. The ties between the two nations draw strength from their mutual belief in a multipolar world, shared democratic values and the rule of law. “France’s strong belief in its own strategic autonomy adds to India’s strategic autonomy. On both sides, there is an appreciation of each other’s thinking on this,” Kumar was quoted as saying by the English daily. As per the French foreign ministry, the partnership “focuses on…civil nuclear energy, defence, counter-terrorism, space cooperation, cyber security and digital technologies”. Paris and New Delhi’s relations have stood the test of time. France was the first nation that India signed its civil nuclear deal with in 2008. The two nations have also stuck to their policy of not commenting on each other’s internal issues. In 1976, then-French President Jacques Chirac did not cancel his India visit even though the South Asian country had declared the Emergency just six months back. Similarly, Modi went to Paris last July despite the city grappling with rioting and violence ahead of his visit. The leaders of both countries have had a tradition of joining each other’s national day parades. Macron is the sixth French president to be India’s chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations. Last July, PM Modi was the Guest of Honour at the Bastille Day (France’s national day) celebrations and parade. His visit coincided with the 25th anniversary of the strategic partnership between India and France. [caption id=“attachment_13654732” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] PM Narendra Modi and French president Emmanuel Macron attend a joint press conference at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, 14 July 2023. Reuters File Photo[/caption] Roadmap for 2047 After PM Modi’s visit to France last July, the two countries outlined a comprehensive roadmap for Indo-French Strategic Partnership – Horizon 2047. The year 2047 is important in several aspects as it will mark 100 years of India’s Independence, 100 years of diplomatic relations between India and France, and 50 years of the Indo-French strategic partnership. The two countries have decided to further cooperation in defence, which is a crucial element in their ties. France is India’s second-largest arms supplier. France’s defence exports to India rose by 489 per cent between 2013-17 and 2018-22, a SIPRI report published last March said. France and India welcomed the timely delivery of the 36 Rafale jets for the IAF and lauded the success of the P75 programme (six Scorpene submarines). The cooperation on fighter jets and submarines will continue. India has already cleared the purchase of 26 Rafale Marine jets for the Navy, along with three more Scorpene submarines. The countries are also promoting defence industrial partnership through a deal between HAL and Safran to co-develop helicopter engines for the Indian Multi-Role Helicopter programme. The countries plan to boost space cooperation in essentially three areas – finalising the joint Earth observation satellite, TRISHNA; manned flights linked to India’s Gaganyaan programme; and collaboration between NSIL and Arianespace in commercial launch services. France previously offered to build six nuclear power reactors in Jaitapur. However, no progress is made yet on the pending deal for six EPRs. [caption id=“attachment_13654782” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] French President Emmanuel Macron and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi attend a dinner held at the Louvre in Paris, France, 14 January. Reuters File Photo[/caption] New Delhi and Paris will continue their cooperation to address climate change. They have adopted a roadmap on Green Hydrogen, which which aims “to bring the French and Indian hydrogen ecosystems together” to set up a reliable and sustainable value chain for a global supply of decarbonised hydrogen, noted Indian Express. India and France have also agreed to a roadmap on blue economy and ocean governance. The blue economy refers to the “sustainable use of ocean resources to benefit economies, livelihoods and ocean ecosystem health”, as per the World Bank. The countries have adopted a roadmap for joint actions in the Indo-Pacific. France has many overseas territories both in the Indian Ocean – Reunion – and Pacific Ocean – New Caledonia and French Polynesia. They have decided to set up an Indo Pacific trilateral fund to help countries in the region with startups and other projects. France’s presence in the Indo-Pacific can be beneficial for India. “As the only EU state with territories in the Indo-Pacific, France could be an important partner for building maritime domain awareness and keep an eye on China’s presence in the region, augmenting New Delhi’s participation in the Quad,” Kumar, India’s former Ambassador to France, told Indian Express. The countries plan to enhance people-to-people ties with a target of welcoming 30,000 Indian students in France by 2030. Trade did not find any significant mention in the communique. Over the last few years, India’s trade with France has remained $10-12 billion a year. It is also not amongst India’s 20 largest trading partners like the US, China, Germany, and so on. Modi and Macron ’s rapport could further be instrumental for India-France relationship. As Professor Gulshan Sachdeva of the Centre for European Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, told Indian Express: “PM Modi played a historic role in finalising the Rafale deal and forcefully articulating the Indo-Pacific narrative, which has made a qualitative difference. Modi-Macron bonhomie has the potential to make it a defining partnership.” With inputs from agencies