Walking arm-in-arm and posing at sunset, these photos show Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte enjoying a romantic visit to India’s ‘monument to love’.
Brigitte, 64, could be seen playfully adjusting her 40-year-old husband’s tie as they stood before the Taj Mahal, a few hours from the Indian capital, New Delhi.
The couple then enjoyed a guided tour of one of the wonders of the world, which Brigitte described as an ‘idea of beauty and perfection’.
Their appearance at the 17th Century mausoleum, during a three-day state visit, comes after a somewhat misstep-laden trip to India by Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau. Both he and Macron are often compared internationally because of their broadly similar political views, as well as youth and good looks.
But Trudeau’s visit hit a series of embarrassing bumps and he received a fairly cool reception during his stay in India. Trudeau was pilloried on social media and in the Canadian press for donning traditional Indian clothing at every opportunity.
Arm-in-arm and posing at sunset, Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte are pictured enjoying a romantic visit to India’s ‘monument to love. Brigitte, 64, could be seen playfully adjusting her 40-year-old husband’s tie as they stood before the Taj Mahal, a few hours drive from the Indian capital, New Delhi
The couple enjoyed a guided tour of one of the wonders of the world, which Brigitte described as an ‘idea of beauty and perfection’
Their appearance at the 17th Century mausoleum, during a three-day state visit, comes after a somewhat misstep-laden trip to India by Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau
Macron said that Taj Mahal, built by Emperor Shah Jahan, ‘says a lot about the human soul, great pains, a civilization that has spread from India to Mongolia, from China to Turkey’
Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau was widely mocked for his traditional outfit choices while in the country, with many suggesting it looked as if he had been attending a wedding
And there were red faces when it emerged a former Sikh militant was invited to a dinner with him in Mumbai. Macron has so far opted for more sober and predictable dress – a dark suit.
Macron said that Taj Mahal, built by Emperor Shah Jahan, ‘says a lot about the human soul, great pains, a civilization that has spread from India to Mongolia, from China to Turkey’.
Marvelling at the monument to love is a near-mandatory stop for visiting leaders, with Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu also touring the Mughal-era marble wonder during a tour of India this year.
Macron on Sunday pledged hundreds of millions of dollars for solar projects in developing countries, as world leaders met in India to promote greater investment in renewable energy.
Macron, who in December warned that the global shift to a green energy future was too slow, said France would extend an extra 700 million euros ($861.5 million) through loans and donations by 2022 for solar projects in emerging economies.
Marvelling at the monument to love is a near-mandatory stop for visiting leaders, with Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu also touring the Mughal-era marble wonder during a tour of India this year
Macron has so far opted for more sober and predictable dress – a dark suit – during his three-day state visit to India
France had already committed $300 million euros to the initiative when it co-founded with India a global alliance in 2015 to unlock new cash for solar projects in sunny yet poor nations.
‘We need to remove all obstacles and scale up,’ Macron said at the launch of the International Solar Alliance in New Delhi on Sunday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi – who has committed to reducing India’s sizeable carbon footprint through a massive scale-up in renewable energy – said it was vital that nations were not priced out.
‘We have to make sure that a better and cost-effective solar technology is available to all,’ Modi told the gathering of investors and world leaders from about 20 mainly African nations. ‘We will have to increase solar in our energy mix.’
India, the world’s third-largest polluter, is undergoing spectacular growth in its solar sector and is on track to become one of the world’s largest clean energy markets.
It pledged at the Paris climate summit in 2015 to source at least 40 per cent of its energy from renewables by 2030, mainly via solar.
Macron on Sunday pledged hundreds of millions of dollars for solar projects in developing countries, as world leaders met in India to promote greater investment in renewable energy
French President Emmanuel Macron (right) and his wife Brigitte Macron (left) visit the Taj Mahal complex in the Indian city of Agra
France’s 40-year-old president and his wife Brigitte on Sunday visited the Taj Mahal, a few hours drive from the Indian capital and enjoyed a guided tour
The energy-hungry giant of 1.25 billion people is banking on solar to electrify homes for hundreds of millions of its poorest citizens without adding to its considerable emissions output.
Macron and Modi hope the alliance will spur $1 trillion in new solar spending by 2030 in 121 countries lacking investment in the sector.
These countries have ‘the paradox of being the sunniest in the world while enjoying the least solar energy,’ said Segolene Royal, a former French minister in India as a special envoy for the alliance.
Macron told world leaders in Paris in December that ‘we are losing the battle’ against climate change and urged faster action to combat global warming.
The French leader called on private sector attendees in New Delhi to engage more actively because ‘solar investments are becoming more profitable’.
Energy and investment has been a focus of Macron’s three-day visit to India.
He and Modi will open a new 100-megawatt solar plant near the holy city of Varanasi on Monday built by the French company Engie.
India and France also signed a technical agreement Saturday on the French-assisted nuclear power project at Jaitapur in western Maharashtra state.
But the two leaders have also struck a key defence accord for the Indian Ocean. Under the deal, India and France will open their naval bases to each other’s warships, a move seen as an attempt to undermine China’s territorial ambitions.
Modi, who welcomed Macron with a bear hug on his arrival Friday, said the accord was crucial as the Indian Ocean region would play a ‘very significant role’ in the days to come.