Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has arrived in France for a two-day visit as New Delhi signalled that it would approve plans to buy French jets and submarines.
Modi landed in Paris on Thursday at the invitation of President Emmanuel Macron, who has made the Indian leader a guest of honour at Bastille Day celebrations in the capital.
India will be part of a military parade on Friday, with the Indian air force performing a fly-past.
Ahead of his departure, Modi said he was looking forward to holding wide-ranging discussions on taking forward a “longstanding and time-tested partnership”.
The Hindu nationalist leader was welcomed at Orly airport near Paris by French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne and met members of the Indian diaspora. Later, he is to attend a lavish dinner at the Louvre Museum with Macron.
Analysts said that while France and India have differing positions on the Russia-Ukraine war, these views are unlikely to impact the foundations of their relationship.
Manoj Joshi, a senior analyst at the New Delhi-based Observer Research Foundation, told Al Jazeera that the visit will focus on India-France ties and is “not really aimed at the European situation”.
Source: Aljazeera.com
