New Delhi: French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday concluded his three-day visit to India with a ‘Thank you, India!’ The message, after attending the India AI Impact Summit 2026 and holding bilateral talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.In a post on X, Macron shared a video of moments from his visit with a note saying “Thank you India!”, appreciating the warm welcome he received during the trip.
During the visit, Macron met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and interacted with global technology leaders, signaling deeper cooperation between Paris and New Delhi in artificial intelligence, innovation and strategic sectors.Speaking at the India AI Impact Summit 2026, Macron began with a greeting that drew applause from the audience.“Namaste. Thank you so much for welcoming us to this wonderful city, in this wonderful country. It is great to be back after my 2024 official visit to attend the AI Impact Summit hosted by you, the Prime Minister,” he said.He praised the digital transformation that India has witnessed over the past decade, and said: “10 years ago, a street vendor in Mumbai could not open a bank account. No address, no papers, no access, and today the same vendor accepts payment on his phone.”
“India has built something that no other country in the world has built. A digital identity for 1.4 billion people. A payment system that now processes 20 billion transactions every month. A health infrastructure that has issued 500 million digital health IDs. Here are the results. They call it ‘India Stack Open Interoperable Sovereign,'” he added.On the sidelines of the summit, Macron met with Google CEO Sundar Pichai, and they discussed digital cooperation and the priorities of the French presidency of the G7.“The solutions to our digital challenges do not exist on Google, but were created in collaboration with Google and all stakeholders. At the Delhi AI Summit, we, together with Sundar Pichai, discussed the priorities of the French G7 presidency. I shared one message: Choose France!” Macron posted on X.“Through its leadership of the G7, France plays a pivotal role in unlocking AI opportunities, and we are proud to be a partner,” Pichai responded.Macron also held talks with Alexander Wang, chief artificial intelligence officer at Meta.“Constructive discussions with Alexander Wang from Meta at the Delhi AI Summit. We discussed what France can offer: talent, research, data centers. In two words: Choose France!” books.He added: “We also reviewed measures to protect young people on social media, in particular the proposal I support to ban access for people under 15. Good news: Meta is committed to moving forward with us.”Regarding the broader partnership between India and France, Macron said that relations are at their strongest.“As for bilateral relations, I really believe they have reached their highest levels, and we want to do more again because it depends on our relationship,” he said.Prime Minister Narendra Modi also held a bilateral meeting with Macron in the capital on the sidelines of the summit.Macron described India’s progress in digital governance and technology as a global benchmark, stressing the continued momentum in the strategic partnership between India and France with a focus on artificial intelligence and emerging technologies.
