In a remarkable departure from standard diplomatic protocol, French President Emmanuel Macron gave Prime Minister Narendra Modi a warm and unusual farewell in Hindi at the end of the Indian leader's visit, drawing attention with his effort to address Modi in the Indian language.
Linguistic Gesture in Video Message
The unprecedented linguistic gesture unfolded in a special video message captured to mark the culmination of the high-profile tour, where Macron began by saying, "Priya mitra Narendra, mujhe bahut khushi hai, daure ke liye swagat karte, France Bharat ki dosti amar rahe." After delivering the Hindi lines, Macron smiled and remarked, "I hope it was correct." (Dear friend Narendra, I am very happy, welcome for the visit, may the friendship between France and India remain eternal).
Seamlessly pivoting from his light-hearted multilingual attempt back to English, the French President also thanked Modi for his visit and described it as "very fruitful", while expressing hope of meeting him again in February.
Deep Personal Camaraderie
Underscoring the deep personal camaraderie and geopolitical synergy defining the partnership, he then continued his message in English, saying, "Priye mitr Narendra Modi. Thank you for your visit. Thank you for our friendship. It was a very fruitful visit. France loves you. We are looking forward to seeing you again soon, in February. Jai Hind."
This high-octane diplomatic interaction occurred on the grand stage of the G7 Summit, where PM Modi participated in discussions over the last two days and held bilateral meetings with several world leaders, including US President Donald Trump.
Foundation of Strategic Partnership
The foundational matrix for this robust summitry was established on June 14, when PM Modi held bilateral talks with Macron at Villa Kerylos in Nice in their first meeting since the elevation of India-France ties to the level of 'Special Global Strategic Partnership' earlier this year.
Set against the scenic backdrop of the French coast, the two leaders held extensive discussions covering diverse aspects of bilateral relations. They expressed satisfaction at the excellent growth and depth of bilateral defence collaboration across all domains and agreed to further intensify it with a focus on co-design, co-development, and co-production of defence platforms and advanced technologies.
Space and Innovation Cooperation
Looking beyond traditional security boundaries to concrete futuristic milestones, both leaders noted the rich legacy of cooperation in the space sector and discussed furthering collaboration in human spaceflight and space situational awareness. They also discussed ways to expand private-sector collaboration in space.
Infusing a strong element of modern economic drive into their strategic agenda earlier in the day, PM Modi and Macron interacted with startups and explored new-age and cutting-edge innovations across sectors at VivaTech 2026.
