French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron on Saturday paid tributes to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat, officials said.
The Macrons laid a wreath of white, blue and red flowers—representing the national colours of France– and then offered rose petals at the memorial of the ‘father of the nation’ on the banks of River Yamuna.
The couple was accompanied by Minister of State for External Affairs MJ Akbar.
Macron is scheduled to meet External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj before holding bilateral talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at noon. It will be followed by delegation-level talks and signing of various deals.
Earlier in the day, Macron received a ceremonial reception at the Rashtrapati Bhavan where he was greeted by President Ram Nath Kovind and Modi.
Breaking protocol, Modi had on Friday received Macron at the airport when he arrived here on a four-day visit, during the course of which the two leaders will co-chair the founding conference of the International Solar Alliance (ISA).
Modi welcomed Macron with a warm hug as soon as he alighted from the aircraft and shook hands with his wife.
On Sunday, Modi and Macron will co-chair the founding conference of the India-initiated International Solar Alliance (ISA), which was launched by Modi and then French President Francois Hollande during the Paris climate summit in 2015.
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.