Sushma Swaraj calls on French President

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Saturday called on French President Emmanuel Macron here and discussed ways to further enhance the India-France Strategic Partnership that was forged in 1998.

External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted that Sushma Swaraj and Macron "exchanged views on further enhancing our strategic partnership in trade and investment, defence and security, culture, education and people-to-people ties".

Earlier in the day, Macron was accorded a ceremonial welcome at the Rashtrapati Bhavan here following which he told the assembled media that France should be the best partner for India and the entry point to Europe.

Later in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Macron will hold a bilateral summit after which a number of agreements across multiple sectors are likely to be signed.

Macron arrived here on Friday on a four-day visit to India during the course of which he will co-chair the founding conference of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) with Modi on Sunday.

The ISA is conceived as a coalition of solar resource-rich countries to address their special energy needs and provide a platform to collaborate on dealing with the identified gaps through a common, agreed approach.

During the course of his stay in India, Macron will also visit Agra and Varanasi and have a town hall interaction with students in New Delhi.

During his visit to Varanasi on Monday, he will inaugurate a 75 MW solar plant built by French firm Engie Solar in Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh.

This is Macron's first visit to India after he assumed office in May in 2017.

--IANS

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