Emmanuel Macron switched to namaste to welcome Angela Merkel as she arrived at Fort de Bregancon.

New Delhi:

French president Emmanuel Macron leaned forward and welcomed German Chancellor Angela Merkel with folded hands at his Mediterranean holiday retreat, the Fort of Bregancon, located in southern France. 

The German Chancellor also reciprocated in the traditional Indian way of “namaste”, which has now become popular among world leaders amid the coronavirus pandemic. The two leaders are meeting at the French President’s summer residence to discuss a long list of burning issues including the coronavirus pandemic, post-election unrest in Belarus and growing tensions with Turkey.

Willkommen im Fort de Brégançon, liebe Angela! pic.twitter.com/lv8yKm6wWV

– Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) August 20, 2020

US President Donald Trump and Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are among some of the world leaders who have adopted the Indian style of greeting over the traditional handshake in the current times of coronavirus.

The Israel Prime Minister was one of the first global leaders to endorse Namaste. “Just avoid shaking hands as I do. You can try to implement the Indian system of Namaste or say another word like shalom, but find a way, any way of not shaking hands,” Mr Netanyahu had said.

In March, Donald Trump was also pictured greeting visiting Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar in the traditional Indian way.

“We did not shake hands today. We looked at each other and said what we are going to do. You know, sort of a weird feeling,” Trump told reporters after his meeting with Mr Varadkar, who is of Indian-origin.

A video of Prince Charles, 71, greeting people with “Namaste” in London had also gone viral on social media in March.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while addressing the global audience during India Global Week 2020, lauded the mark India has left on the world during the global pandemic.

“You would have seen Namaste has gone global as a form of greeting. The pandemic has also seen the universal appeal of yoga, Ayurveda and traditional medicine world over. India’s ancient culture and universal peaceful ethos are its strength,” he was quoted saying at the event.

The novel coronavirus spreads through contact with droplets spread during coughing and sneezing, doctors say. Besides keeping contact to a minimum with an infected person, the preventive measures include frequent washing of hands and use of hand sanitisers.

With inputs from agencies