India PM Modi to be French President Macron’s guest of honour at France’s Bastille Day parade

PARIS: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has accepted French President Emmanuel Macron’s invitation to be the guest of honour at France’s traditional military parade held during Bastille day, on July 14th, the French presidency said on Friday.

“An Indian armed forces contingent will take part in the parade alongside French forces,” the presidency said in the statement, adding Modi’s visit will coincide with the 25th anniversary of the “strategic partnership” between France and India.

“This historic visit will also allow joint initiatives to take on the big challenges of our time, such as climate change, loss of biodiversity and the achievement of sustainable development targets.”

“Prime Minister’s visit is expected to herald the next phase in the India-France Strategic Partnership by setting new and ambitious goals for our strategic, cultural, scientific, academic, economic cooperation, including in a wide range of industries,” the official statement read.

The Ministry of External Affairs highlighted that India and France have a shared vision of peace and security, especially in Europe and the Indo-Pacific, and uphold the objectives and the principles of the Charter of the United Nations, which are also the basis of our cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region.

Bastille Day, which takes place every year on July 14, commemorates the date of the storming of the Bastille in 1789, during the earliest stages of the French Revolution.