India, France elevate ties to a 'special global strategic partnership'

Airbus H125 assembly line, HAMMER JV & more: 21 outcomes announced after Modi-Macron talks

India and France on Tuesday elevated their ties to a “special global strategic partnership”, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron concurring that deepening cooperation between Paris and New Delhi represents “a partnership for global stability and global progress in today’s turbulent world”.

 

Macron, on his fourth visit to India as president, including as the Republic Day chief guest in 2025, was greeted in Mumbai by giant hoardings. On Tuesday morning, hours after landing, he jogged along Marine Drive.

 

Later in the day, following talks between Modi and Macron, the two sides announced 21 outcomes, highlighted by expanded defence manufacturing cooperation. Earlier this month, the Defence Acquisition Council, chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, cleared the acquisition of 114 Rafale fighter jets, though the deal must still pass through negotiations on price and local production.

 

 

Agreements were also signed across innovation, startups, critical minerals, skilling, mobility, renewable energy and health. India and France additionally signed an amending protocol to their double tax avoidance agreement.

 

In defence, the countries announced a joint venture between Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and France’s Safran Electronics and Defence to produce the Highly Agile Modular Munition Extended Range (HAMMER) precision-guided air-to-ground weapon system in India. The system is deployed on Rafale fighter jets.

 

The two leaders jointly inaugurated the Airbus H125 helicopter final assembly line at Vemagal, on the outskirts of Bengaluru, Karnataka. 

 

The facility will be operated by Tata Advanced Systems Limited, with Singh and his French counterpart in attendance. The sides also signed an agreement providing for the reciprocal deployment of officers at Indian Army and French Land Forces establishments.

 

“This is the spirit of cooperation that we have in the field of defence in particular,” said Macron. “I must mention the Rafale fighter jets and submarines, and the new projects we are launching together, such as the final assembly line Tata is setting up for Airbus helicopters in Bengaluru.” New Delhi is also exploring the purchase of the maritime version of the Rafale, according to French government sources quoted by agencies. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, which tracks global arms transfers, reported that India accounted for the largest share of French arms exports in 2020-24.

 

Modi and Macron agreed to establish an annual foreign ministers’ dialogue to review implementation of the elevated partnership and the “Horizon 2047 Roadmap”. “In diplomacy, it means a great deal,” Macron said of the new status of the bilateral ties -- a “special global strategic partnership”.

 

India and France first signed a strategic partnership in 1998 -- New Delhi’s first such pact with a western nation. Indian officials said the expanded framework would deepen cooperation in space, defence and civil nuclear energy. France has also worked closely with India on counter-terrorism and was described by officials as “extremely helpful” following the Pahalgam terror attack. Macron spoke of joint efforts to promote a “non-hegemonic” world order and to expand connectivity and trade.

 

In his media statement, Modi recalled Macron hosting him at the AI Action Summit in Paris in 2025, describing France as one of India’s oldest strategic partners. “We are combining France’s expertise with India’s scale,” he said. Later, the leaders launched the India-France Year of Innovation at Gateway of India. Modi welcomed France’s commitment to host 30,000 Indian students by 2030 and announced that India’s leading startups would showcase their innovations in France in June 2026.

 

On Wednesday, Macron will travel to New Delhi to participate, alongside other world leaders, in the India AI Impact Summit.

 

Modi said the helicopter assembly line exemplified the breadth of bilateral cooperation, noting that India and France would manufacture “the only helicopter in the world capable of flying to the heights of Mount Everest” and export it globally. “The India-France partnership knows no boundaries. It can reach from the deep oceans to the tallest mountains,” he said, calling 2026 a “turning point” for India-Europe relations.

 

Other agreements included expanded cooperation in science and technology, the creation of a Centre on Advanced Materials, a letter of intent between T-Hub and Nord France on strategic collaboration in startup ecosystems, and plans to establish an Indo-French Centre for Digital Sciences and Technology. The two leaders are also scheduled on Wednesday to launch the Indo-French Centre for AI in Health at All India Institute of Medical Sciences.