France's President Emmanuel Macron to visit India in early 2018

France's President Emmanuel Macron will attend a summit to launch a solar power alliance in India in early 2018. It would make his first visit to India since he took office on May 7 to take part in the meeting.

There will be discussions on economic, strategic, smart cities, renewable energy, and other aspects," Ziegler told reporters on the sidelines of an event to announce the commencement of direct flights to Paris from Chennai by Jet Airways this month.

The French President's office added the alliance that wins the support of more than 100 solar-rich countries "is fully in line with the efforts of France and India to achieve the objectives set by the Paris Agreement on Climate Change".

The international meeting will see the "founding ceremony" of the International Solar Alliance which is to have its headquarters in India.

The solar alliance, to promote the global use of solar power, was proposed by PM Modi ahead of the 2015 Paris climate conference.

More than 100 countries are backing the alliance, which aims to set international standards and support research and development.

OneIndia News