Mumbai: Heralding a new chapter in ties between India and France, prime minister Narendra Modi and French president Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday signed 20 agreements spanning various sectors such as defence, health, technology, and trade.
The agreements were signed at Lok Bhavan, during Macron’s three-day visit to India. The first leg of the visit was in the city, where the two leaders also held bilateral talks focused on boosting ties in trade, defence, energy and critical technologies.
Speaking to reporters later, both Modi and Macron underlined their shared commitment to deepening the Indo-French partnership.
“We are combining Indian skills and French expertise to develop trusted technologies,” Modi said, calling the Indo-France partnership a “force for global stability”.
The two leaders also inaugurated via video conferencing a H125 helicopter manufacturing plant in Karnataka involving France’s Airbus and India’s Tata Advanced Systems, with defence minister Rajnath Singh attending a parallel event in Bengaluru.
Speaking at the function, Modi said he was happy to welcome Macron to Mumbai.
“When he called me for the AI action summit in France last year, we toured Marseile, where Veer Savarkar set himself free from the clutches of the British. I remembered him and paid homage,” Modi said.
Production of the H125 helicopter, which can scale Mount Everest, was an example of the strategic partnership between India and France, the prime minister said.
“The year 2026 is the turning point in Indo-European relations. Some days back, we signed a free trade agreement with the European Union. This will bring some change in the Indo-France relationship and boost joint investments and trade,” he said.
Modi said both he and Macron support peace in Ukraine, West Asia and the Indo Pacific region, and are keen to end terrorism. India would seek French help in developing a national maritime heritage complex at Lothal, while India would set up a Swami Vivekanada cultural centre in France, he stated.
Macron, in his speech, said this was his fourth visit to India, and the Indo-French relationship was based on trust, openness and ambition.
“We have decided to make this into a global strategic partnership and take it to new levels,’’ said Macron. “We have a common roadmap to tackle global problems and search a path different from hegemony.”
There will be a joint-venture between BEL and Safran to produce HAMMER missiles in India and there will be reciprocal deployment of officers from the Indian Army and French Land Forces, Macron said.
India and France are amending the Protocol on the Double Tax Avoidance Agreement, he noted.