Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to be guest of honor Friday for Bastille Day celebrations in France, the latest Western power to court the world's largest democracy and its booming economy.
French President Emmanuel Macron's red carpet welcome comes weeks after Modi was given the rare honor of a White House state dinner in Washington — a city he was once banned from visiting.
That visit saw deals on arms sales, semiconductor investment and space cooperation, breezing past human rights concerns over India's Hindu nationalist government and accusations of rising religious intolerance towards the country's Muslim minority.