Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be visiting France in May this year. This visit is following Macron being re-elected as the President of France for a second term with a landslide triumph.
The results of the presidential elections in France were declared on 24th April 2022. Emmanuel Macron, who won a second term has brought a sigh of relief among France’s allies. It is hoped that the nuclear-armed power will not abruptly shift its course amid an ongoing crisis in Ukraine, from the European Union.
Macron’s presidential challenger, Marine Le Pen, conceded defeat, however, her score was higher than considerably expected. Macron won with 58.5 per cent of the vote to Le Pen’s 41.5 per cent, making it remarkably closer than when they first faced off in the year 2017.
With France being one of India’s closest bilateral partners, it is highly profiting to the Indo-France bilateral relationship that PM Modi has chosen to pay Macron a visit. Macron-led government has shown a great interest in the project Atmanirbhar Bharat, PM Modi and President Macron are likely to discuss the manufacturing of air-independent propulsion submarines and high thrust aircraft engines in India among other issues, Hindustan Times said in its report.
Owing to the great ties between India and France, both the countries have always said that they will assist each other in various sectors including defence, trade, economy, social relationships and emerging technologies.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated his “friend” Emmanuel Macron on being elected as the President of France for a second term. In a tweet on Monday, 25th of April, PM Modi said, “Congratulations to my friend @EmmanuelMacron on being re-elected as the President of France! I look forward to continue working together to deepen the India-France Strategic Partnership.”
India and France are maritime nations which share a deeply valued dynamic maritime economy. The sectors that cover their bilateral maritime partnership are marine technology and scientific research, fisheries, port and shipping, among others. Both possess vast exclusive economic zones, and PM Modi’s visit to Paris in May is expected to be helpful to the broad range of maritime relations. The AUKUS partnership is also expected to make France shift closer to India. It has been noted that France is also helping India in tracing the Indian Ocean bed and has emerged as a significant presence in the Indo-Pacific region.
