NEW DELHI: As India and France near three decades of their Strategic Partnership, bilateral ties are moving into a more ambitious, forward-looking phase under the Horizon 2047 roadmap.

Although diplomatic relations were established in 1947, a defining milestone came on 26 January 1998, when the two countries formalised a Strategic Partnership — India’s first with a Western nation and France’s first outside the European Union. Since then, cooperation has broadened steadily, spanning defence, civil nuclear energy, space, emerging technologies, climate action, and the Indo-Pacific.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to France in July 2023 as Guest of Honour at the country’s National Day celebrations marked 25 years of the partnership. During the visit, both sides adopted the Horizon 2047 roadmap, a long-term framework aligned with the centenary of India’s independence and 100 years of diplomatic ties.

The symbolism was matched in January 2024, when President Emmanuel Macron attended India’s 75th Republic Day as Chief Guest — an unprecedented reciprocal exchange of national day honours.

In February 2025, the two leaders co-chaired the AI Action Summit in Paris, advancing collaboration in artificial intelligence and digital governance. India is set to host the AI Impact Summit in 2026, underscoring the partnership’s expanding technological dimension.

Beyond leader-level engagement, regular ministerial visits, foreign office consultations, and strategic dialogues continue to drive cooperation across priority areas such as the Indo-Pacific, climate change, counter-terrorism, and reform of multilateral institutions.

Today, the India–France partnership rests on shared democratic values, a commitment to strategic autonomy, and a common vision of shaping a stable, multipolar global order.