New Delhi [India], February 19 (ANI): Asserting that India-France relations are at their 'highest point,' French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday said the two countries now share a Special Global Strategic Partnership which is unique and will expand further.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in the national capital, Macron said India and France have built very strong relations over the past few years, which his visit has helped to consolidate, particularly in the area of defence.

'This is my fourth bilateral visit as president; the Prime Minister has also visited several times, we have seen each other more than twenty times, and in recent years we have consolidated a very strong relationship. This fuels an extremely dense agenda centered around a shared vision of the Indo-Pacific, as well as a desire to avoid any form of hegemony or vassalization in the region, and to avoid being in a position that is in any way conflictual,' he said, according to a video on the official account of the French Presidency and the Elysee Palace posted on X.

Macron said he has invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to be special guest at the G7 Summit.

'As for the bilateral relationship, I really believe it's at the highest point. And we want to do much more again because it's based on our relations. This is why I invited Prime Minister Modi for a state visit to France in June, and he will come and he will be the special guest of our G7, and I will come back next year. He invited me and I would honour his invitation.'

The French President said India has expressed willingness to co-produce Rafale fighter jets.

'We don't have just a strategic partnership, we have a Special Global Strategic Partnership which is unique both for India and France. On Rafale, what we want to do is to expand. India confirmed a few days ago its willingness to indeed command a new bunch of Rafales (114), and to co-produce. The 'Make in India' will be core in this new command. On top of that, we want to improve the cooperation in maintenance capacities in terms of diversification of approach and to be much more of a mutual agreement cooperation... I hope we'll do the same on submarines,' he said.

Macron said France is committed to having the maximum number of Indian components and manufacturing maximum number of critical devices in India.

'We are always increasing indigenous components. It's part of the dialogue between the company and your government. I don't see how people can criticise because it makes your country stronger, it increases the strategic coordination between us, and it creates more jobs here. Very clearly, we are extremely committed to having the maximum number of Indian components and manufacturing the maximum number of critical devices in India,' he said.

On his remarks free speech, he says, Macron said he believes in free speech and a lot of people defending free speech do it based on an algorithm without any transparency.

'I do believe in free speech. But what does it mean? Free speech means I will listen to you, and you will listen to me. We are in an equal relationship. A lot of people defending free speech do it based on an algorithm without any transparency, with a lot of bias and with their own political agenda. It's not free speech,' he said.

'When people clearly help hate speech, racist speech, to be spread all around the place, it's not about free speech... I really believe in free speech based on respect and transparency,' he added.

The French President highlighted key collaborations, including the inauguration of a joint construction project between Airbus and the Tata Group to produce H-125 helicopters.

'We were able to confirm the very strong relationship we have in fighter aviation with the Rafale, see it continue regarding the engines for many Indian assets, and also continue our joint work on submarines, as France has already provided the Indian Navy with six Scorpne submarines and we are in discussions to go further. Defence is clearly a pillar of this relationship,' Macron said.

In his speech at the India AI Impact Summit 2026, Macron delivered a strong message on the need for inclusive and cooperative development of artificial intelligence, urging nations to resist digital fragmentation and instead work toward shared technological growth.

The French President underscored the urgency of shaping AI governance through collaboration rather than competition.

'At a time when tensions are rising, there is an increased sense of urgency to direct all our digital tools towards this inclusive approach and in order, indeed, to be strong here in India but to be strong as well on the African continent. And let's focus altogether towards bridging rather than dividing, creating rather than destroying, sharing rather than taking. France intends to use its G7 presidency to foster that vision. I know, Prime Minister Modi, that India will do the same through your BRICS presidency. No country is bound to serve only as a market where foreign companies sell the models and download the citizens' data. No country,' he said. (ANI)