French President on 4 day vist to India, PM Modi breaks protocol to receive him

New Delhi: Breaking protocol, Prime Minister Narendra Modi received French President Emmanuel Macron at the airport when he arrived here on Friday on a four-day visit to India, during the course of which the two leaders will co-chair the founding conference of the International Solar Alliance (ISA). Modi welcomed Macron with a warm hug as soon as he alighted from the aircraft and shook hands with his wife Brigitte Macron. PM Modi also tweeted -

Looking forward to co-chairing the Founding Conference of the International Solar Alliance with President @EmmanuelMacron on 11th March. The ISA is a unique effort that brings the world together to harness solar energy and create a cleaner as well as greener future.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 9, 2018

While  French President Emmanuel Macron on Twitter shared -

Nos jeunesses travaillent ensemble à des projets communs. Ce lien est quotidien et je suis très heureux de venir, à mon tour, en Inde. Merci @narendramodi pour votre accueil. Au travail dès demain pour renforcer encore notre coopération dans un monde ouvert et solidaire. pic.twitter.com/qpLKoZW5VR

— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) March 9, 2018

Modi and Macron will hold a bilateral summit on Saturday, following which a number of agreements across multiple sectors are expected to be signed. On Sunday, Modi and Macron will co-chair the founding conference of the India-initiated International Solar Alliance (ISA), which was launched by Modi and then French President Francois Hollande during the Paris climate summit in 2015. The ISA is conceived as a coalition of solar resource-rich countries to address their special energy needs and provide a platform to collaborate on dealing with the identified gaps through a common, agreed approach. It is open to all 121 prospective member countries falling between the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. Till Thursday, 60 countries had signed the framework agreement of the ISA and another 30 submitted the instruments of ratification. Sunday's conference will be attended by 23 of those who have submitted the instruments of ratification and 24 of those who have signed the framework agreement. During the course of his stay in India, Macron will also visit Agra and Varanasi and have a town hall interaction with students in New Delhi. During his visit to Varanasi on Monday, he will inaugurate a 75MW solar plant built by Engie Solar at Mirzapur.