French President Emmanuel Macron has arrived in Jaipur as part of his two-day State visit to India. He will attend the 75th Republic Day Parade 2024 tomorrow as the Chief Guest. During his short stay in the city, President Macron will visit Jaipur’s artistic hilltop fort of Amber, the iconic Hawa Mahal and the awe-inspiring astronomical observatory Jantar Mantar and Albert Hall. As per the official itinerary, he is scheduled to be accompanied by the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi.
Roadshow And Meeting With Prime Minister Narendra Modi In The Evening
President Macron will join the prime minister in a road show in the Walled City, before the two leaders hold wide-ranging talks at luxury hotel, Taj Rambagh Palace, on major aspects of bilateral India-France ties and several geopolitical upheavals.
The French president will depart for Delhi later in the evening today, according to the Ministry of External Affairs.
The road show is scheduled to start at Jantar Mantar area at 6 pm while Modi and Macron are scheduled to begin their talks at 7.15 pm. Ways to boost bilateral cooperation in a range of areas including digital domain, clean energy, trade, defence, youth exchanges, and easing visa norms for Indian students are set to take centrestage in today’s talks, as per sources.
It is expected that India’s proposed procurement of 26 Rafale-M (marine version) fighter jets and three Scorpene submarines would also be a part of the talks. “The negotiations for procurement of the Rafale-M jets and three Scorpene submarines are moving forward positively”, the sources said.
However, there is no clarity as yet on whether there will be an announcement on sealing the two multi-billion (dollar) deals. Both leaders are also expected to deliberate on expanding maritime cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, the situation in the Red Sea, Hamas-Israel conflict as well as the war in Ukraine.
Tomorrow, President Macron will witness the Republic Day celebrations as the Chief Guest. A 95-member marching contingent and 33-member band contingent from France is also scheduled to take part in the parade. Two Rafale fighter jets and an Airbus A330 multi-role tanker transport aircraft of the French air force will feature in tomorrow’s Republic Day celebrations. The French marching contingent from the French Foreign Legion has six Indians.
Chief Guest At Tomorrow’s Republic Day Celebrations At Kartavya Path
The French President as the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations at Delhi’s Kartavya Path tomorrow would make him the sixth leader from France to grace the prestigious annual extravaganza in the nation.
During his visit, Emmanuel Macron will be accompanied, among others, by a ministerial delegation comprising Stephane Sejourne (Europe and Foreign Affairs), Sebastien Lecornu (Armed Forces), and Rachida Dati (Culture); a C-level business delegation of French majors, SMEs and mid-caps; and other eminent personalities, including ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet.
President Macron will also attend the ‘At Home Reception’ by President Droupadi Murmu at the Rashtrapati Bhawan. He is also scheduled to hold a meeting with her at 7.10 pm. The French president is scheduled to depart Delhi at 10.05 pm on the same day.
Notably, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the guest of honour at the prestigious Bastille Day Parade held on July 14 last year in Paris. President Macron visited India for the G20 Summit in September last year.
Bengali