New Delhi, Dec 21: India and France on Tuesday discussed cooperation in the areas of defence and security, space, cybersecurity and the digital economy, as well as in the European Union in view of the forthcoming French Presidency, the Indo-Pacific, UNSC, and the situation in Afghanistan.
The talks took place during the visit of François Delattre, Secretary-General, Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France, who is on an official visit to India from December 20-22. His visit comes on the heels of the Annual Defence Dialogue held on December 17 in New Delhi between Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh, and Florence Parly, French Minister for Armed Forces.
Delattre met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, during which the two sides held talks on bilateral cooperation, the Indo-Pacific and global developments.
In a tweet, the EAM said: “Glad to receive French Secretary General François Delattre.
“Good discussions on our bilateral cooperation, Indo-Pacific and global developments,”
Earlier, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla held talks with Delattre during which the two sides took stock of bilateral relations and agreed to closely work together in areas of regional, multilateral and global interest including the UNSC, Afghanistan among others, according to a tweet by Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi.
During the talks between Shringla and Delattre, both sides took stock of the bilateral relationship and discussed the potential for cooperation in sectors such as defence and security, space, cybersecurity and the digital economy, blue economy, education and people-to-people contacts, energy, health and climate change. The Ambassadors of India and France joined the talks.
Reaffirming their shared commitment to a multipolar world and faith in multilateralism, the Foreign Secretary and the Secretary-General also held discussions on a number of regional and global issues of mutual interest, including cooperation in the European Union in view of the forthcoming French Presidency, the Indo-Pacific, UNSC, the situation in Afghanistan, among others, an official statement said.
India’s trade with France has witnessed a steady rise in the last decade reaching USD 10.75 billion in 2020. Despite the pandemic, it is estimated that bilateral trade between the two countries in 2021 has reached USD 8.85 billion.
To tap the full potential of bilateral trade and economic relations, both sides reiterated their commitment to restarting negotiations on the India-EU Free Trade Agreement.
France has emerged as a major source of FDI for India with more than 1,000 French establishments already present in India. France is the 11th largest foreign investor in India with a cumulative investment of USD 9.86 billion from April 2000 to June 2021 which represents 1.80% of the total FDI inflows into India.
Most big French groups have their subsidiaries in India such as BNP Paribas, Capgemini, Airbus, Dassault, Arkema, L’Oréal, Sanofi, Total, etc. There are around 200 subsidiaries of Indian businesses established in France, which employ more than 6,000 people. Among Indian investments in France, majority are in IT services, pharmaceuticals/biotechnologies and hospitality sectors.
Delattre will be visiting Mumbai on December 21-22, where he will meet other Indian officials.
The top French diplomat, in a video message on his visit, said that despite the pandemic the exchanges between France and India have been very dense at every level.
He said the French Defence Minister Florence Parly was in India for “a very successful visit. This shows the strength and vitality of our strategic partnership that is growing stronger every year”.
“At the core of this partnership there is the mutual trust we have built over decades. It is because of this level of trust that France and India can work together in sensitive areas.
“The areas that matter for the strategic autonomy of our two nations is defence of course, but also space security, new technology, cyber security, energy.”
Referring to the International Solar Alliance that both launched together in 2015, he said the two sides are working on many projects regarding renewables, and nuclear energy in particular. “These topics are at the heart of my visit.”
“In my career as diplomat, I’ve had many opportunities to work with Indian diplomats, at the UN in particular; and I’ve always been very impressed by how similar our world view is. We both believe in multilateralism solutions to global challenges; we both want a multi polar world where international law is respected. That goes in particular for the Indo-Pacific, the crucial region where our two countries are neighbours and natural partners; This vision of a rules based prosperous Indo-Pacific is also supported by the EU and its 27 member states through a comprehensive strategy.
“This is a major development. When France takes presidency of the EU on January 1, we will focus on putting this strategy into action with India at the core of this strategy. This will be one of our top priorities,” he stressed.
