External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar undertook a pivotal diplomatic engagement in Paris on January 8, 2026, meeting French President Emmanuel Macron to personally convey heartfelt greetings and best wishes from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while delving into substantive exchanges on the evolving contours of global geopolitics and the robust trajectory of bilateral relations between the two longstanding strategic partners.
Jaishankar publicly articulated deep gratitude for President Macron's nuanced and forward-looking assessments of pressing international developments, particularly noting the French leader's enthusiastic endorsement and affirmative outlook toward further elevating the multifaceted India-France Strategic Partnership, which encompasses critical areas such as defense cooperation, space exploration, civil nuclear energy, and emerging technologies.
In a separate but complementary highlight of the visit, the External Affairs Minister was accorded the privilege of addressing France's annual Ambassadors' Conference, where he articulated the profound transformations reshaping the global order—driven by interconnected dynamics in trade flows, financial systems, technological advancements, energy security, critical resource management, and infrastructure connectivity—while identifying evolving mindsets among nations as the decisive catalyst and underscoring the indispensable contribution of India-France collaboration toward fostering a balanced multi-polar world and preserving strategic autonomy.
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Adding momentum to the bilateral calendar, President Macron confirmed his intention to undertake an official visit to India in February 2026 to attend the prestigious AI Impact Summit being organized by New Delhi, a development that promises to inject fresh impetus into joint initiatives on artificial intelligence governance, ethical frameworks, and technological innovation between the two democracies.
The diplomatic itinerary also featured substantive discussions the previous day with French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, during which both sides explored concrete pathways to intensify bilateral cooperation across diverse sectors, advance the broader India-European Union strategic dialogue, and align perspectives on stabilizing an increasingly volatile global political landscape through mutual adherence to principles of multipolarity, sovereignty, and rules-based international order.
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