India, France ties ages old: Modi signs 14 MoUs with French Prez

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday inked 14 pacts and witnessed the exchange of MoUs between India and France.

Macron, who is on his four-day India visit, arrived in New Delhi on Friday evening. He was given a ceremonial welcome on Saturday morning.

Addressing the joint statement, Modi said that even though India-France strategic partnership is just 20 years old, the cultural and spiritual partnership between the two nations is ages old.

He said liberty, equality and fraternity not only echo in France, but are also deeply embedded in India's Constitution.

PM Modi welcomed investments from France in the defence sector under ‘Make in India’. India and France also signed an agreement on protection of classified information.

"India and France have robust cooperation in fields of defence and security. In the defence sector, we welcome investments from France under ‘Make in India’," Modi said.

Macron, in a briefing with Modi, said that France wants India as its first strategic partner in Asia, and it wants to be India’s first strategic partner in Europe, and even the western world.

Macron added that India and France have decided to work together to deal with threats of terrorism and radicalisation.

Read: India is, has always been our priority: French President Emmanuel Macron

Earlier on Saturday, PM Modi held talks with Macron to explore ways to deepen bilateral cooperation, including in the fields of defence, security, trade and investment.

The visit of the French President is aimed at strengthening the bilateral economic, political and strategic dimension of our engagement, the foreign ministry said in a statement.