German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to visit India next month, French President Macron in March

French President Emmanuel Macron (R) and German chancellor Olaf Scholz (L). AP.

New Delhi: French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will be visiting India in the first quarter of 2023. Scholz is expected to undertake a high-profile visit in February, while Macron will be in India’s capital New Delhi around March.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz India visit

The aim of Scholz visit to India is to significantly expand overall cooperation in areas of trade, defence, clean energy and climate change. It will be his first visit to India after he became German Chancellor in December 2021.

News agency PTI cited people familiar with the matter saying that both India and Germany are looking at the fourth week of February for the visit, but the dates are yet to be finalised.

Notably, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock was on a two-day visit to India in December apparently to prepare for Scholz’s long-pending trip.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held his first meeting with Scholz during the former’s visit to Berlin on 2 May, 2022, for the 6th India-Germany Inter-Governmental Consultations (ICG).

This was followed by the Indian PM’s visit to the Alpine castle of Schloss Elmau in southern Germany in June to attend the G7 grouping’s annual summit. PM Modi was invited by Scholz for the summit under the German presidency.

Both the leaders again met on 16 November last year in Bali, Indonesia, where they held bilateral talks on the sidelines of the G-20 summit.

French President Emmanuel Macron visit to India

Macron is expected to visit India around March, but dates are yet to be finalised said one of the people citing ‘strategic dialogue’ between the two sides on Thursday.

Situation arising out of the Ukraine conflict, ways to expand India and France defence cooperation, and French President Emmanuel Macron expected visit to India figured prominently in the fresh round of ‘strategic dialogue’ on Thursday.

The visit comes amid reports that French fighter Rafale was much ahead of American F/A-18 Super Hornet in the multi-billion-dollar contract to supply 26 deck-based jets to the Indian Navy.

Last year, the Indian Navy carried out detailed evaluation of the two jets and submitted a report to the defence ministry for a final decision.

The focus of Macron’s visit is expected to majorly focus on increase economic engagement, cooperation in the Indo-Pacific.

On Thursday, Macron’s diplomatic adviser Emmanuel Bonne was in Delhi for the 36th Indo-French strategic dialogue with National Security Adviser Ajit Doval.

A French readout said his focus during one-day Delhi visit was defence and security cooperation, Russia-Ukraine conflict, cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, counter-terrorism cooperation, cyber-security, space, civil nuclear energy.

Ahead of Macron’s visit, India and France have also been discussing ways to speed up setting of the civilian nuclear power reactors at Jaitapur, Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra.

Macron’s last visit to India was in March 2018.

With inputs from agencies

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