Macron Meets Modi in Mumbai to Boost AI & Innovation Ties

Following their meeting, PM Modi and the French President will travel to New Delhi to attend the AI Impact Summit 2026.

According to the MEA, in Mumbai, the two leaders will exchange MOUs followed by a press statement. The Hotel Taj Mahal Palace will host an India-France Innovation Forum, followed by the India-France Year of Innovation and Cultural Commemoration at the Gateway of India.

Emmanuel Macron and First Lady Madame Brigitte Macron will visit Mumbai and Delhi during their visit to India from February 16-19, the ministry said.

The Year of Innovation 2026 initiative will be celebrated throughout the year in both countries and aims to deepen collaboration in innovation, technology, research, and people-to-people exchanges.

This will mark French President Macron's fourth visit to India at the invitation of Prime Minister Modi, signalling sustained momentum in the India-France strategic partnership, with a particular focus on Artificial Intelligence (AI) cooperation and emerging technologies.

In a post on X on Friday, the French Embassy in India said that President Macron will visit India for bilateral engagements and attend the AI Impact Summit, marking another significant chapter in the expanding ties between New Delhi and Paris.

Macron's upcoming visit comes against the backdrop of a steadily deepening partnership between India and France across defence, space, civil nuclear energy, climate action, education and people-to-people exchanges.

According to the French Embassy in India, President Macron's first visit to India in 2018 marked a new chapter in France-India relations.

Meanwhile, the upcoming India-AI Impact Summit, the first-ever global AI Summit to be hosted in the Global South, from February 16 to 20, will be anchored in three guiding "sutras" of People, Planet and Progress and structured around seven key "chakras," MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.

- ANI