French President Macron To Visit India This February. These Are The Dates

New Delhi: French President Emmanuel Macron is all set to visit India and the dates have been finalised on February 17-19, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement on Tuesday. 

“At the invitation of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, the President of the French Republic, H.E. Emmanuel Macron, will pay an official visit to India on 17-19 February 2026. During the visit, both leaders will hold discussions on strengthening bilateral cooperation across a wide spectrum of areas as enshrined in the Horizon 2047 Roadmap,” the MEA stated.

“In addition, the leaders will discuss regional and global issues of mutual interest, including cooperation in the Indo-Pacific. The two leaders will also be in Mumbai to jointly inaugurate the India-France Year of Innovation, which will be celebrated throughout 2026 in both countries. On 19 February, President Macron will participate in the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi,” it added.

This visit follows Prime Minister Modi’s visit to France in February 2025.

According to some government sources cited by ANI, the Defence Ministry of India held a discussion on a Rs 3.25 lakh crore proposal to buy 114 Rafale combat aircraft for the Indian Air Force ahead of this visit. The Indian Air Force proposal was earlier given the initial nod by the Defence Procurement Board.

"The proposal is likely to be taken up for discussion next week at a high-level meeting of the defence ministry and is seen as critical for meeting the operational requirements of the Indian Air Force in view of the present security scenario in the region," defence sources told ANI.

The Indian Air Force is currently operating only around 30 fighter aircraft squadrons, against its sanctioned strength of 42 squadrons. After Operation Sindoor, the Indian Air Force needs to meet up its requirement for a 4.5-generation-plus multirole fighter aircraft to effectively counter China as well as Pakistan.

About 80 per cent of the 114 Rafale fighter aircraft proposed to be acquired under the deal are planned to be manufactured in India. Sources said that the Indian Air Force is going to get 88 single-seater and 26 twin-seater aircraft under the project, of which the majority would be built in India with the collaboration of Dassault and Indian private sector companies.

Once the deal gets completed, the Indian Air Force will have a fleet of 150 Rafales, along with 26 of the Indian Navy, which will have an aircraft carrier-compatible version of the French planes. (With ANI inputs)

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