India and France have elevated their relationship to a “Special Global Strategic Partnership”, setting an ambitious target of 30,000 Indian students in France by 2030 and announcing a visa-free airport transit facility for Indian nationals. The decisions were unveiled following talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron during the latter’s February 17–19 visit to India.
The move signals a broadening of cooperation across education, defence, technology, climate and global security, with both sides positioning the partnership as central to their Indo-Pacific and multilateral engagement.
India and France reaffirmed their goal of welcoming 30,000 Indian students by 2030, up from around 10,000 at present.
The leaders appreciated France’s “International Classes” initiative, designed to help Indian students transition into French universities.
A new Mumbai hub bringing together ESSEC Business School and CentraleSupélec was welcomed.
Both sides agreed to revise the agreement on mutual recognition of academic qualifications.
According to the joint statement, France will roll out a visa-free airport transit facility for Indian nationals travelling through French airports. The facility will be reviewed after a six-month pilot phase.
The two leaders jointly launched the India-France Year of Innovation 2026 in Mumbai. The initiative will focus on collaboration in science, technology, AI, healthcare, sustainable development, culture and education.
Key initiatives include:
A binational centre on digital sciences and technology between INRIA and India’s Department of Science and Technology.
A proposed AI research centre in healthcare linking Sorbonne University, AIIMS New Delhi and the Paris Brain Institute.
Macron also participated in the Artificial Intelligence Impact Summit 2026 during his visit.
Both leaders welcomed steady growth in bilateral trade and investment, underscoring the role of MSMEs, startups and AI-driven enterprises. The India-France CEO Forum held alongside the visit was described as a key platform to boost business engagement.
They also welcomed amendments to the bilateral tax treaty aimed at improving certainty and encouraging cross-border investment.
On digital payments, the leaders expressed satisfaction over the rollout of UPI in France — the first European country to enable it — with several flagship stores in Paris already accepting the platform. They agreed to work towards wider adoption of secure digital payments to facilitate tourism and business flows.
