- Friday, February 28, 2025
Besides attending the Bastille Day Parade on July 14, Modi will pay a visit to a private dinner hosted by Macron at Elysee Palace, his official residence.
By: Shubham Ghosh
INDIAN prime minister Narendra Modi’s foreign trips generate a whole lot of enthusiasm both at home and abroad and his upcoming two-day visit to France is no exception.
The Indian leader is scheduled to visit the European nation on July 13 after being invited as the guest of honour at the Bastille Day Parade to celebrate France’s National Day on July 14.
It is a special honour for the Indian prime minister since Paris doesn’t invite foreign dignitaries to the parade every year, The Quint reported. It may be mentioned that Modi recently made his first-ever state visit to the US where he also addressed both the houses of the Congress for the second time, a feat no other Indian leader has recorded.
Overall, it will be Modi’s seventh visit to France since he became the prime minister in 2014.
The Indian PM’s visit to France holds importance for a variety of reasons. It looks to strengthen the two countries’ strategic partnership. Emmanuel Bonne, diplomatic advisor to French president Emmanuel Macron who personally invited Modi, recently visited New Delhi to finalise the bilateral agenda during Modi’s visit to Paris and discuss potential outcomes.
The visit will focus on issues such as technology transfer, including complete technology transfer for helicopter engines and procurement of Rafale fighter jets and Scorpene-class submarines.
Macron will also accompany Modi to Paris’s famous Louvre Museum and the duo might even get themselves photographed with the famous painting of Mona Lisa.
The Indian prime minister is also scheduled to address a diaspora event at La Seine Musicale, a music and performing arts centre located on Ile Seguin an island on the Seine river in Paris. The centre is currently hosting the “Namaste France” Festival of India, which is organised by the Indian embassy in France and the culture ministry, The Quint report added.
Besides attending the Bastille Day Parade on July 14, Modi will pay a visit to a private dinner hosted by Macron at Elysee Palace, his official residence.
A 269-member contingent from the Indian armed forces will also take part in the Bastille Day Parade while three Rafale fighter jets from the Indian Air Force will join a flypast over the Champs Elysees alongside French aircraft.
Macron will also host the Indian prime minister over a ceremonial dinner at the Cour Marly courtyard in the Louvre Museum. More than 250 dignitaries will attend the event.
They will also witness a fireworks display over the Eiffel Tower from the terrace at Louvre’s.
