Journalism of Courage
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will jointly inaugurate a 75-megawatt solar power plant in Uttar Pradesh’s Mirzapur district with French President Emmanuel Macron, who will be in India on a four-day visit, beginning March 9. The centrepiece of the visit will be the International Solar Alliance (ISA) and bilateral engagement on economic, political and strategic dimensions. About 25 leaders, at the level of heads of states and heads of governments, will attend the ISA Summit on March 11, which will see delegates from over 125 countries. Macron will visit the Banaras Hindu University in Varanasi and take a boat ride in Ganga, where Modi is likely to accompany him.
The Enviro Solitaire Pvt Ltd solar plant at the district’s Dadar Kala village will be inaugurated by the two leaders on March 12. Macron, accompanied by his wife Brigitte on the trip, may visit the Taj Mahal. An official statement by the Ministry of External Affairs said, India-France strategic partnership, established in 1998, is one of the “most important and comprehensive bilateral engagements and is marked by intense and frequent high level exchanges and deep political understanding.”
“We have enhanced and ongoing cooperation in the defence, maritime, space, security, and energy-related sectors, and are increasingly working together on all issues of concern including terrorism, climate change, sustainable growth and development, infrastructure, smart urbanization, S&T cooperation, and youth exchanges. Macron’s visit is aimed at strengthening the bilateral economic, political and strategic dimension of our engagement,” the statement read.
François Hollande was the last French President to visit India in 2016 as the Chief Guest at the Republic Day celebrations. Modi visited France in June 2017, after Macron was elected as President. The bilateral trade between India and France for the period April 2016 to March 2017 reached US$ 10.95 billion. France is the 9th largest foreign investor in India with a cumulative investment of US$ 6.09 billion from April 2000 to October 2017. Close to 1,000 French companies are present in India. About 120 Indian companies have invested in excess of Euro 1 billion in France and employ close to 7,000 people.
“The India-France CEO’s Forum will take place during the visit. The visit is also aimed at forging not only strong manufacturing and technology partnerships, but also greater people to people contacts especially through greater exchanges of students and researchers,” the statement said.
