♦ Prime Minister Narendra Modi held bilateral talks with French President Emmanuel Macron at Maharashtra Lok Bhavan in Mumbai on 17 February 2026. India and France agreed to upgrade the India-France relationship to a Special Global Strategic Partnership. There were a total of 21 outcomes. Both sides agreed on the establishment of an annual Foreign Ministers Dialogue for regularly reviewing the implementation of the elevated partnership and Horizon 2047 Roadmap. Both nations agreed to the launch of the India-France Year of Innovation and the India-France Innovation Network.

♦ Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron virtually inaugurated the Final Assembly Line (FAL) for H125 helicopters in Vemagal Industrial Area in Kolar (near Bengaluru), Karnataka. This is India’s first private-sector helicopter manufacturing facility, and will initially produce 10 H125 helicopters annually, serving both domestic needs and export markets in neighbouring countries. The plant will initially produce 10 H125 helicopters per year, with the potential to scale up to meet a projected demand of 500 units over the next 20 years. The first “Made in India” H125 is expected to take off from this facility by early 2027.​

♦ Thereafter, President Macron and First Lady Brigitte Macron paid tribute to the victims of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.

♦ As India and France approach three decades of their strategic partnership, the relationship is entering a more ambitious and future-oriented phase under the Horizon 2047 roadmap. India established diplomatic relations with France in 1947, but the defining moment came on 26 January 1998, when the two countries launched a Strategic Partnership – India’s first with a Western nation and France’s first outside the European Union. Since then, ties have steadily expanded across defence, civil nuclear energy, space, technology, climate action and the Indo-Pacific.

♦ Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to France in July 2023 as Guest of Honour at the French National Day marked 25 years of the partnership. During the visit, both sides adopted the Horizon 2047 roadmap – a long-term blueprint aligned with the centenary of India’s independence and 100 years of diplomatic ties.