Emmanuel Macron and Narendra Modi (File photo)

NEW DELHI: French President Emmanuel Macron will pay an official visit to India from February 17 to 19, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced on Tuesday.This will be Macron’s first visit to India since January 2024, when he attended the annual Republic Day celebrations as the chief guest. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had visited France in February last year. “Both leaders will hold discussions on strengthening bilateral cooperation across a wide spectrum of areas as enshrined in the Horizon 2047 Roadmap. In addition, the leaders will discuss regional and global issues of mutual interest, including cooperation in the Indo-Pacific,” the MEA said in a statement. “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.Meanwhile, ahead of Macron’s visit, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), chaired by defence minister Rajnath Singh, is scheduled to meet to consider several big-ticket defence procurement proposals. Most important of them all is the likely proposal to grant Acceptance of Necessary (AoN) for 114 French-made Rafale fighter jets at a cost of Rs 3.25 lakh crore.Also Read: Ahead of Macron’s visit, DAC likely to meet next week to approve deal for 114 RafalesAbout 80% of the 114 Rafale fighters proposed to be acquired under the deal are planned to be manufactured in India.