France will simplify visa procedures for Indian students, says Macron

Macron announced plans to triple the number of Indian students in France and launched an Indo-French AI health centre, as both nations deepen cooperation in AI, mobility and nuclear R&D

French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday said that his country will simplify visa and sourcing procedures and expand courses taught in English in an effort to get 30,000 Indian students to study in France by 2030 from the current level of 9,000-10,000 annually.

 

Macron held bilateral talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Mumbai on Tuesday, and landed in the national capital from Mumbai on Wednesday afternoon, where he is scheduled to attend the AI Impact Summit on Thursday.

 

On Wednesday evening, the French President launched a research centre dedicated to artificial intelligence (AI) in health care, involving collaboration between Sorbonne University, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi and the Paris Brain Institute. India and France have placed AI and digital health at the core of their strategic cooperation in the sector.

   

Addressing the gathering at AIIMS, Macron said France currently sees an annual inflow of approximately 9,000 to 10,000 Indian students. “We have decided with Prime Minister Modi to increase this number to 30,000 per year by 2030,” the French President said. He said that France wants to welcome more Indian students and have more French students coming to India. “From the French side, we will work on streamlining procedures to make them more practical and aligned with students’ expectations,” Macron said.

 

The French President inaugurated the Indo-French Centre for AI in Health (IF-CAIH). The centre will focus on advancing AI-driven research, medical education and clinical innovation to address complex health care challenges in priority areas such as digital health, Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), human resources for Health and the responsible use of health data. The centre will also draw academic collaboration from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi and leading French institutions, promoting interdisciplinary research in AI, brain health, and global health care systems.

 

On the subject of AI cooperation between the two countries, Macron said both India and France are committed to developing the computing capacity and talent necessary to build “our own trusted AI systems, as we cannot rely solely on technologies created and managed elsewhere.”

 

Apart from deepening their defence collaboration, India and France are also set to cooperate on railway and high-speed railway development in India, and sign a joint declaration on it soon, the joint statement released on Tuesday evening said.

 

It also said that Macron invited Modi to attend this year’s G7 Summit which France is hosting. He invited India to participate actively in the discussions and preparatory work ahead of the Summit, mainly on the key issues of tackling global macroeconomic imbalances and defining a new paradigm for international partnerships and solidarity. He also asked the PM to participate in the “Africa Forward: Partnerships between Africa and France for Innovation and Growth” Summit, to be held on May 11 and 12, 2026, in Nairobi, Kenya.

 

On mobility, the two leaders welcomed the announcement of the upcoming visa free transit of Indian nationals through French airports, which will be reviewed after a six-month pilot period, the joint statement said. The two sides also signed a pact for greater cooperation in the fields of skill development, vocational education and training that would strengthen opportunities for mobility of youth and professionals.

 

The joint statement said that the two leaders’ shared vision for India-France ties is that the partnership should “act as a force for global good that can help build not only prosperity and resilience in their economies and advance their countries’ security, but also work collectively towards addressing challenges in an increasingly uncertain global environment and, thus, help build a stable rules-based international order.”

 

On civil nuclear cooperation, India and France had signed the Declaration of Intent (DoI) for establishing cooperation on Small and Advanced Modular Reactors (SMR/AMR) in 2025. Within the framework of this DoI, the two sides agreed to explore the possibility of establishing cooperation in research and development on SMR/AMR between the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) and India’s Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), the joint statement said.

 

On Artificial Intelligence, India and France affirmed democratising AI resources through openness and bridging the global AI divide as important principles. The two sides signed the amendment to the bilateral tax treaty, which will secure economic activity for French and Indian businesses and pave the way for greater investments and collaborations between the two countries, the statement said.

 

The two noted the continuous progress made by UPI in France, the first European country to offer UPI. Several flagship stores already accept UPI, making Paris a more attractive destination for Indian tourists, it said.

 

Following the success of the ten Indian startups at Station F last year, the French side expressed its commitment to bring VivaTech, Europe’s largest tech fair, to India, in partnership with the Bangalore Tech Summit.