French President Emmanuel Macron was accorded a ceremonial reception at the Rashtrapati Bhavan by President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday. The French President was accompanied by his wife Brigitte Macron.

The French President, who is on a four day visit to India, inspected a guard of honour at the forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhavan before addressing the media briefly.

“I am very proud to be here in India,” Macron said. Recalling PM Modi’s visit to France in 2015 during which the Indian Prime Minister had paid tributes to fallen Indian soldiers of World War I “who went to France to save our freedom”, Macron highlighted the long history of freedom and sovereignty in the two democracies.

He also revealed the three purposes of his visit. The first purpose, he said, is to open a new era of partnership.

“(Intend to) open for the coming decade a very strategic partnership in terms of defence and security, in terms of economy, research and science, and in terms of exchange in higher education,” said the French President.

“Our nations have common challenges regarding terrorism and threats. But we have to protect this history and the space for freedom,” he pointed out.

Macron said that his second purpose is connected to the International Solar Alliance (ISA), which he described as a “very important event”.

Modi and Macron will co-chair the founding conference of the India-initiated ISA, which was launched by Modi and then French President Francois Hollande during the Paris climate summit in 2015.

The ISA is conceived as a coalition of solar resource-rich countries to address their special energy needs and provide a platform to collaborate on dealing with the identified gaps through a common, agreed approach.

“The best way for both of us is to deliver concrete commitments following the Paris Agreements and our common decisions (should) be totally committed to fight climate change and consequences,” Macron said.

“My third objective is to go see young people and deliver a message that France is the best partner for India in Europe. I dream of more Indian students coming to France to study or create start-ups,” the French President said.

Following the reception, Macron left for Rajghat to pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi. He will be holding bilateral talks with PM Modi at the Hyderabad House.

During the course of his stay in India, Macron will also visit Agra and Varanasi and have a town hall interaction with students in New Delhi.

During his visit to Varanasi on Monday, he will inaugurate a 75MW solar plant built by Engie Solar at Mirzapur.

This is Macron’s first visit to India after becoming President. PM Modi had visited France in 2017 where he had met Macron.