Macron’s India Visit Signals Deepening AI and Defense Cooperation
Recent Delhi is hosting the fourth world artificial intelligence summit this week, coinciding with French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to India, where both nations are demonstrating a strong desire to strengthen ties, particularly in the technology and defense sectors, as a counterweight to the dominance of the United States and China.
A Strategic Partnership Gains Momentum
During his visit, President Macron and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed on enhanced cooperation, describing the relationship as being in a phase of “remarkable acceleration.” The leaders symbolically inaugurated an Airbus helicopter assembly line in Bangalore remotely, and discussions are underway regarding potential sales of additional Rafale combat aircraft to India, building upon the existing order of 36.
AI Collaboration: A Focus on Innovation and Market Access
Beyond defense, a key focus of the strengthened partnership is artificial intelligence. With India hosting the AI Impact Summit, both countries recognize the potential for collaboration in this field to compete with American and Chinese tech giants. For French AI startups, particularly those specializing in the health sector, India’s large population – exceeding 1.5 billion – represents a significant market opportunity.
André Loesekrug Pietri, president of the Joint European Disruptive Initiative (Jedi), a European suppose tank specializing in innovation, highlights the importance of India for AI development. “Today, the essential thing for AI players in the medical field is the ability to run their models on a very large number of people. In terms of clinical trials in particular, India is a potentially very interesting relay point for most of them.”
Shared Values and Challenges in AI Development
India views France and Europe as allies in its pursuit of a more balanced global AI landscape. However, challenges remain. Despite this shared vision, India currently relies heavily on major cloud providers like Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, and Google. France lacks comparable cloud players, meaning this dependence is likely to continue.
Loesekrug Pietri notes, “We have to be realistic: today, it is the big cloud players, the AI giants who totally dominate the Indian market. However, France does not have any cloud players, so the Indian market’s dependence on Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, Google is here to stay…” He also emphasizes that India represents “an essential growth driver for European technology players.”
A Common Vision for Responsible AI
Both India and France share a common vision for AI development – one that prioritizes openness, inclusivity, and data protection. This alignment is a key driver of the strengthening partnership.
Loesekrug Pietri explains, “There is technological alignment between the two countries. France promotes “neither nor” – neither dependence on the United States, nor dependence on China – , in which it joins India which is historically one of the leaders of non-aligned countries and which promotes all open source models or publishes how algorithms are structured.”
As of February 18, 2026, President Macron departed from Mumbai for New Delhi to attend the opening ceremony of the India AI Impact Summit 2026. He was seen off at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport by Maharashtra Governor Acharya Devvrat, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy CM Eknath Shinde.