 "Narendra Modi and Emmanuel Macron")
French President Emmanuel Macron will be the chief guest for the 75th Republic Day celebrations to be held on January 26.
Macron had also visited India for the G20 Summit in New Delhi in September.
“As strategic partners, India and France share a high degree of convergence on a range of regional and global issues,” the Ministry of External Affairs said on Friday. The French President’s office also confirmed the visit.
This year, both countries are celebrating the 25th anniversary of the India-France Strategic Partnership.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the guest of honour at the Bastille Day Parade held on July 14, 2023, in Paris.
The ‘Horizon 2047’ Roadmap, the Indo-Pacific Roadmap, and other outcomes discussed during Modi’s visit will serve as recent points of reference for talks during the upcoming visit.
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At the last meeting of the leaders on the sidelines of G20, both sides committed to strengthening defence cooperation through a partnership in the design, development, testing, and manufacture of advanced defence technologies and platforms. They also reiterated plans to expand production in India, including for third countries in the Indo-Pacific and beyond.
In June, Modi’s visit to France had seen talks on nuclear cooperation, especially a discussion for the Jaitapur nuclear plant project. It said both sides will continue engagements to establish a partnership for co-developing small modular reactor (SMR) and advanced modular reactor (AMR) technologies.
SMR nuclear reactors are generally 300 megawatts equivalent or less, designed with modular technology using module factory fabrication, pursuing economies of series production, and short construction times.
India and France are also engaged in signing a dedicated declaration of intent.
Hunt for a guest
This will be the sixth time a French leader will be the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations in the national capital.
India was earlier keen on inviting the leaders of all the other three Quad nations — United States, Japan, and Australia — for the next year's Republic Day celebrations.
New Delhi had initially planned for the visits to coincide with the fourth Quad Summit, which India will be hosting in 2024. However, all three leaders had prior domestic commitments.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is expected to be engaged in public celebrations on January 26, which is also Australia's national day.
Meanwhile, Japan generally initiates its Diet (Parliament) session in the last week of January. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is likely to be present for the early weeks of the Budget session, scheduled to commence on January 23. US President Joe Biden had to turn down the invitation due to scheduling issues.
