French president arrives in India on 4-day state visit

NEW DELHI -- French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in New Delhi late Friday night on a four-day state visit to India.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Macron are slated to hold bilateral talks Saturday, following which a number of pacts are expected to be inked between the two countries, according to India's External Affairs Ministry.

"The visit of President Macron is aimed at strengthening the bilateral economic, political and strategic dimension of our engagement," the Ministry earlier said in a statement.

Modi and President Macron will Sunday co-chair the Founding Conference of the International Solar Alliance (ISA), a flagship Indian initiative launched by the two countries on sidelines of Paris Climate Conference in 2015.

Bilateral trade between India and France touched nearly 11 billion US dollars during April 2016 to March 2017. France is the ninth largest foreign investor in India.