President Macron to host lunch for PM Modi, ties stretch from seabed to space
French President Emmanuel Macron will be holding discussion with PM Narendra Modi on vast range of issues---from Ukraine to Indo-Pacific to terrorism to climate change—while intensifying defence ties between two countries
French President Emmanuel Macron his hosting a working lunch for Prime Minister Narendra Modi tomorrow as closest allies deepen bilateral cooperation from seabed to space.
PM Modi with his friend French President Emmanuel Macron.
According to sources based in Bali and New Delhi, President Macron and PM Modi will discuss the Ukraine war as both have been constantly in touch on how to end the war and pave way for peace in Europe. Both the leaders have also been talking to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine President V. Zelenskyy on phone to give peace a chance as the war stretches on to ninth month with no resolution in sight.
{{^htLoading}} {{/htLoading}}
While there is a possibility of a close ally of both India and France in Middle-East joining the lunch, the two leaders will discuss Indo-Pacific with President Macron committed to strengthening India’s strategic autonomy. This translates into further intensification of defence ties between the two close allies as President Macron is all for PM Modi’s Aatmanirbhar Bharat vision. India and France are now looking towards defence joint ventures based in India for manufacturing high end platforms from aircraft engines to long range submarines with a vision of exporting to allies like Indonesia and Philippines.
While the two leaders will be discussing pressing issues of terrorism, alternate global supply chains and climate change, India and France are forging trilateral relationships with close allies like Australia, United Arab Emirates, and Island countries in Far Pacific. The French strategic document on Indo-Pacific places India at the center of bilateral partnership as President Macron wants India to be the key to the Indo-Pacific challenge. After hosting lunch for PM Modi, President Macron will meet Anthony Albanese, Prime Minister of Australia as both countries are reviving ties post AUKUS hurdle.
{{^htLoading}} {{/htLoading}}
{{^usCountry}}
The bilateral meeting with President Macron comes after Indian Air Force hosted Garuda air exercises in Rajasthan sector this month and Army Chief Gen Manoj Pandey is currently on a three day visit to France. While French Defence Minister is coming to India later this month, Gen Pandey will be paying homage to the unknown soldier at Arc de Triomphe tomorrow along with French Army Chief.
{{/usCountry}}
{{#usCountry}}
The bilateral meeting with President Macron comes after Indian Air Force hosted Garuda air exercises in Rajasthan sector this month and Army Chief Gen Manoj Pandey is currently on a three day visit to France. While French Defence Minister is coming to India later this month, Gen Pandey will be paying homage to the unknown soldier at Arc de Triomphe tomorrow along with French Army Chief.
Shishir Gupta is Executive Editor at Hindustan Times and one of India's top journalists covering national security, strategic affairs, foreign policy and geopolitics. Over the past three decades, he has extensively reported on India's military, diplomatic and security landscape, covering every major conflict and national security challenge, from the 1999 Kargil War and the 2020 East Ladakh standoff to Operation Sindoor in 2025. He has also covered major terror attacks, including the IC-814 hijacking, the 26/11 Mumbai attacks and the 2025 Pahalgam terror strike, along with numerous Pakistan-backed terrorist incidents in the Kashmir Valley and across India. He has reported on national and state elections for more than three decades. A recognised authority on strategic affairs, Gupta has covered India's nuclear programme since the Pokhran-II (Shakti series) tests in May 1998 and has written extensively on global nuclear issues, Indian diplomacy and the country's expanding global outreach. He has also reported widely on international conflicts and terrorism, with a special focus on the Indian subcontinent. Gupta has interviewed Prime Minister Narendra Modi more than four times, including Modi's first interview with the print media after becoming Prime Minister in May 2014. His other interviews include three with the Dalai Lama, as well as conversations with Benjamin Netanyahu, Amit Shah, Yogi Adityanath, S. Jaishankar, Nirmala Sitharaman and Piyush Goyal. He is the author of Indian Mujahideen: The Enemy Within (Hachette, 2011) and Himalayan Face-off: Chinese Assertion and Indian Riposte (Hachette, 2014). He was awarded the Chevening-Wolfson Joint Scholarship at Wolfson College, University of Cambridge, UK, in 1998 and participated in the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) of the US State Department in 2006. He received the Ben Gurion Prize from Israel in 2011 and the K. Subrahmanyam Prize for Strategic Studies in 2015 from the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA). Since 2024, he has hosted Point Blank, Hindustan Times' weekly YouTube show on global geopolitics.
Get the latest India News, breaking headlines and real-time updates from across the country. Stay informed about politics, government policies, crime, weather major national developments and Karnataka Bandh LIVE.
Get the latest India News, breaking headlines and real-time updates from across the country. Stay informed about politics, government policies, crime, weather major national developments and Karnataka Bandh LIVE.
Home/India News/President Macron to host lunch for PM Modi, ties stretch from seabed to space
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
{{#usCountry}}{{/usCountry}}
Hindustantimes wants to start sending you push notifications. Click allow to subscribe
