Emmanuel Macron in India LIVE: Want France to be India’s best partner in Europe, says French President

French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday night arrived on a four-day visit to India, accompanied by his wife Brigitte Marie-Claude Macron and senior ministers from his Cabinet.

Macron is also expected to hold delegation-level talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday. Macron will also take part in a Town Hall and have an interactive session, in which nearly 300 students from different institutions are expected to participate. Later in the day, he will take part in a Knowledge Summit which will be attended by more than 200 academicians from both sides.

Here are the live updates:

11.42am: French President Emmanuel Macron and PM Narendra Modi at the Hyderabad House ahead of the bilateral talks.

11.15am:

A strategic partnership since 1998! EAM @SushmaSwaraj called on President of France @EmmanuelMacron and exchanged views on further enhancing our strategic partnership in trade & investment, defence & security, culture, education and people-to-people ties. pic.twitter.com/QCsKO8e00Y

— Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) March 10, 2018

10.49am: French President Macron meets external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj.

10.26am: At the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Macron said, “France is the entry point to Europe. We want to be India’s best partner in Europe.”

“The first (objective of my visit) is to seal for the decade to come a strong pact around collective security in the region between our two democracies.”

10.26am: After inspecting a guard of honour and meeting with other officials, Macron said, “I am very happy and proud of this visit. I thank the President (Kovind) and Prime Minister (Modi) for this welcome.”

The French President stated that the visit would open a new era of strategic partnership in the coming decades.

“Our two democracies have common channels like terrorism, lots of common risks and common threats. But we have to protect this history and the state for freedom,” President Macron added.

9.47am: Emmanuel Macron and wife Brigitte Marie-Claude Macron pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi at the Raj Ghat.

9.25am: I think we have very good chemistry, our two great democracies have a historic relationship: Emmanuel Macron

9.22am:

French President #EmmanuelMacron and wife Brigitte Macron with President Kovind,Savita Kovind and PM Modi at Rashtrapati Bhawan pic.twitter.com/kPsmaxtXjk

— ANI (@ANI) March 10, 2018

9.15am:

French President #EmmanuelMacron inspects guard of honour at Rashtrapati Bhawan pic.twitter.com/qdc8LXNwoI

— ANI (@ANI) March 10, 2018

9:10am: What’s on the agenda --- During the visit, India and France countries would look to boost ties, especially in the areas of maritime security and counter-terrorism. An agreement on the Jaitapur nuclear power plant, which is being built with French assistance, is expected to be signed during the visit, sources here said. Stepping up cooperation in the Indian Ocean region will be one of the top issues that will be discussed by Macron and Prime Minister Modi during delegation-level talks on Saturday.