At the invitation of Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, H.E Francois Hollande, will be paying a state visit to India on 14-15 February 2013. He will be accompanied by Ms. Valerie Trierweiller, a high-level delegation including several key Ministers of his Cabinet, senior officials, business-persons and media.
The French President will arrive in New Delhi on the morning of 14 February 2013. He will be paid a Guard of Honour at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on the same morning, after which he will visit Raj Ghat to pay homage to the Father of the Nation. He will hold delegation level talks with Indian Prime Minister. The External Affairs Minister, Shri Salman Khurshid, will pay a call on him. The Chairperson of UPA, Smt. Sonia Gandhi and the Leader of Opposition, Lok Sabha, Smt. Sushma Swaraj will also be calling on him.
On 15 February, the French President will deliver a lecture in the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, Teen Murti House, following which; President Hollande is scheduled to honour Professor Amartya Sen with Commandeur de la legion d’Honneur.
Thereafter, the French President will visit Mumbai, where he will have a meeting with the Governor of Maharashtra and participate in a Business Conference.
Relations between India and France have been laid on strong historical foundations and shared values. With upgradation of the relationship to strategic partnership in 1998, the relationship has become multifaceted and symbiotic in areas such as defence, civil nuclear energy, space and counter terrorism. There have been regular high-level exchanges at the Head of State/Head of Government levels. Most recently, External Affairs Minister had visited France to have talks with his counterpart, the French Foreign Minister, Mr. Laurent Fabius, in January 2013. Today our relations are growing fast in all sectors of contemporary relevance with wide ranging contacts in economic, industrial and commercial spheres. There is also increased interaction in the fields of education, science and technology, culture and lifestyle industries services. France has consistently supported India’s growing role in the international fora and the two countries have regular consultations on global and regional issues of importance.
New Delhi
February 9, 2013
