- Tuesday, February 25, 2025
The French president will be the chief guest at India’s 75th Republic Day celebrations on January 26.
By: Shubham Ghosh
FRENCH president Emmanuel Macron on Thursday (25) arrived in the historic Indian city of Jaipur, where he will spend several hours savouring the sites – and perhaps some roadside tea — before engaging in talks with prime minister Narendra Modi on strengthening India France ties.
Macron is known for sharing close ties with the Indian leader.
The French president, who is the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations on Friday (26), will spend several hours in the capital city of the northern state of Rajasthan, visiting iconic sites, including the hilltop Amber Palace, and participating in a roadshow with Modi.
Read: India welcomes France’s Macron ahead of Republic Day ceremony; lucrative deals eyed
The two leaders will hold official talks at Rambagh Palace Hotel in the evening.
The French delegation was received by the governor of Rajasthan, Kalraj Mishra, and chief minister Bhajanlal Sharma at the airport.
Modi, who was on a visit to neighbouring Uttar Pradesh’s Bulandshahr to inaugurate several developmental projects, was to reach Jaipur later.
Macron was scheduled to visit Amber Fort, Jantar Mantar and Hawa Mahal — all tourist hotspots in Jaipur.
It will also be Modi’s first visit to Rajasthan after the recent state polls, in which his Bharatiya Janata Party emerged victorious and returned to power.
The Macron-Modi roadshow will begin from Jantar Mantar and end at Hawa Mahal.
According to details made available by officials earlier, the French leader is also expected to do some shopping in the city.
There is no official word on it, but a local trader said the leaders will stop for a cup of his masala tea. He told PTI Videos that he would be paid digitally through India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) system.
During his visit to France in July last year, Modi said that India and France have agreed to use UPI on French soil, opening a huge new market for Indian innovation.
Addressing the Indian diaspora at an event on an island in river Seine, the Indian PM said Indian tourists would be able to make rupee payments using UPI from atop the Eiffel Tower very soon.
Meanwhile, cutouts and hoardings were put up at several locations in Jaipur around the sites Modi and Macron were set to visit. Security has been tightened in the city and some traffic diversions put in place.
(With PTI inputs)
