The National Day, held the previous day, marking 75 years of complete liberation from the British colonial yoke with the adoption of a new constitution, was undoubtedly the most significant event of the past seven days here.
The period referred to began with great Hindu religious enthusiasm for the dedication ceremony of Lord Ram in the new temple erected in the city of Ayodhya.
Thousands of participants, including cultural, political and other religious figures dressed in white and orange robes, attended the religious activity led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
On the other hand, French President Emmanuel Macron participated as a special guest in the 75th Republic Day celebrations during his two-day visit to India, which he took advantage of to further deepen relations between the two countries.
Macron and Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared 2026 the Indo-France Year of Innovation and pledged to develop a detailed roadmap, identify priority areas and engage relevant institutions.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the French President's visit to India concluded 25 years of bilateral strategic partnership in a historic manner in 2023 and laid the foundation for the next phase of the partnership until 2047 and beyond.
In this context, the visitor and the Indian Prime Minister called for further deepening the integration between the defense industry sectors of both countries to identify opportunities for joint design, development and production to enhance their military capabilities and be a vital and reliable source of weapons to others. countries.
Modi and Macron agreed on the importance of making the most of the opportunities available in the space sector in both countries, and stressed the signing of the letter of intent on space defense cooperation.
The two sides expressed their agreement to sign a similar mechanism for cooperation in the field of health and medicine, which aims to enhance cooperation in the field of research and development, information technology-based medical equipment and digital health.
They also welcomed the progress made in discussions on a possible memorandum of understanding in priority areas such as hospitality, tourism, energy, the audio-visual sector and cooperation modalities.
The two sides welcomed the upcoming establishment of India's first Consulate General in Marseille and an office in Hyderabad by France with the aim of improving people-to-people relations and enhancing consular services in the two countries.
It was also confirmed that implementation agreements were signed between the Ministry of Science and Technology and the French National Research Agency to facilitate joint research on the two countries’ priorities in the fields of energy, applied mathematics, health and marine sciences.
They also agreed to promote youth exchanges and linkages between economic players in the sports industry with a view to facilitating the training of Indian athletes in French facilities.
In this regard, Macron announced that France will share its experience in hosting the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games as part of India’s candidacy to host these events in 2036.
On the other hand, the French President confirmed his intention to create conditions to attract up to 30,000 Indian students annually to French higher education institutions.
The two sides stressed the need to deepen scientific and technical cooperation in areas such as coastal ecosystems, blue carbon ecosystems, fisheries, marine spatial planning, and coastal resilience.
The two leaders called for the activation of the Indo-Pacific Trilateral Development Cooperation Fund to facilitate the scaling up of green technologies being developed in the region.
In unison, but less publicity, the President of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly, Denis Francis, made a five-day visit to India, at the invitation of Foreign Minister Subramanian Jaishankar.
As part of his schedule of activities, Dennis met with President Draupadi Murmu.
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