Modi Says India-France Ties Have Reached “New Heights” as Paris Temple Opens
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said India’s ties with France have climbed to “new heights,” casting the relationship as a long-term strategic partner...
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said India’s ties with France have climbed to “new heights,” casting the relationship as a long-term strategic partnership built on culture as much as politics. He was speaking virtually at the inauguration of a Swaminarayan temple in Paris.
Modi said the new temple in the French capital should endure for centuries as a sign of cooperation and opportunity between the two countries. The message landed beyond the temple walls. It pointed to how New Delhi wants to frame one of its most important European partnerships: durable, broad-based and capable of surviving political change.
A partnership with cultural roots
“In recent years, relations between India and France have reached new heights,” Modi said, adding that he and French President Emmanuel Macron were building a “Special Global Strategic Partnership.”
He described the partnership as especially meaningful because it rests on “the solid foundation of long-standing cultural and political ties.” The wording matters. India has increasingly pushed culture, faith and people-to-people links alongside defence, diplomacy and technology when presenting its ties with major powers abroad.
The Paris temple gave that message a visible setting. Modi said he hoped the grand temple would stand for centuries as a symbol of cooperation and opportunity between the nations. In diplomatic terms, it was a soft-power moment. In practical terms, it reinforced the idea that the relationship is no longer limited to state visits and formal communiqués.
Why the language matters
Modi’s comments also showed how India is positioning France within its wider global outreach. The phrase “Special Global Strategic Partnership” signals a relationship New Delhi sees as deeper than routine bilateral engagement.
France has long been one of India’s key European partners, and the latest remarks suggest both sides want that bond to keep widening. The prime minister’s reference to technology offered a clue about where the relationship may be heading next, though he did not go into detail in the available remarks.
For now, the temple in Paris carries the symbolism. It is a religious site, yes. But in Modi’s framing, it is also a marker of diplomacy — a physical reminder that the India-France relationship is being built to last. “Stand for centuries,” he said. That was the point.
