PM Modi gets warm hug from French President Emmanuel Macron upon arrival in France

New Delhi, May 5: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who arrived in France on Wednesday on the final leg of his three-day Europe visit, was warmly welcomed by French President Emmanuel Macron.

The two leaders hugged before they walked inside the official residence of the French President. The video Modi-Macron has now gone viral.

Modi, who arrived from Denmark on the final leg of his three-nation Europe tour, will hold extensive talks with President Macron, who was re-elected to the top post over a week back. "Landed in Paris. France is one of India's strongest partners, with our nations cooperating in diverse areas," Modi tweeted soon after his arrival here.

The two leaders are also expected to discuss how to ensure cessation of hostilities in Ukraine and mitigate the global economic consequences of this conflict. Another focus area of the talks would be to unitedly deal with the challenges in the Indo-Pacific.

Diplomatic sources said Modi's meeting with Macron days after his election victory is highly symbolic. It sends a powerful signal that the two leaders want to make the Indo-French partnership a guiding principle of their foreign policy for the years to come, they said. It's also a demonstration of the level of personal chemistry between the two leaders, which gives impetus to our joint actions across all fields of cooperation, they said.

Prime Minister Modi will be among the first few world leaders to meet President Macron after his re-election last week. He had congratulated Macron after his re-election. "I look forward to continue working together to deepen the India-French Strategic Partnership," Modi had tweeted.

The meeting between the two leaders will set a more ambitious agenda for the strategic partnership, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said in a tweet. His visit
comes during the French presidency of the European Union. It also coincides with the 75 years of diplomatic relations between India and France. This is Modi's fifth visit to France after August 2019, June 2017, November 2015 and April 2015. PTI