Three pillars as its basis, India and France outline road ahead till 2047

India and Franceagreed on a slew of new initiatives and agreements after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron held bilateral talks on Friday. Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra said there are 63 outcomes in the joint statement.

The joint statement – “25th Anniversary of the Strategic Partnership between France and India: towards a Century of Indo-French Relations” – sets the course for the France-India bilateral relationship in all areas till 2047, the year that will mark 100 years of India’s Independence, 100 years of diplomatic relations between our two countries, and 50 years of the Indo-French strategic partnership.

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The roadmap for bilateral relations has three pillars: partnership for security and sovereignty; partnership for the planet; partnership for the people.

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Partnership for security, sovereignty

• Defence:Continuation of the cooperation on fighter jets and submarines, following the timely delivery of the 36 Rafale jets for the IAF and the success of the P75 programme (six Scorpene submarines).
• Space:Scientific and commercial partnership is being enhanced through several agreements between France’s CNES and India’s ISRO, notably concerning reusable launchers; finalization of the joint Earth observation satellite, TRISHNA; the first phase of the constellation of maritime surveillance satellites in the Indian Ocean; and the protection of Indo-French satellites in orbit against the risk of collision.
• Civil nuclear energy:Both sides welcomed progress on the 6-EPR power plant project in Jaitapur. They decided to launch a cooperation programme on small modular reactors and advanced modular reactors.
• Indo-Pacific:Adoption of a roadmap for joint actions in the Indo-Pacific, covering all aspects of our comprehensive strategy for the region. Work on finalising an Indo-French development fund for third countries, which will enable joint financing of sustainable development projects in the Indo-Pacific region.
• Counter-terrorism:Strengthening of cooperation between France’s GIGN and India’s National Security Guard.
• Critical technology:Strengthening of cooperation on cutting-edge digital technology, particularly on supercomputing, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and quantum computing. Announcement of an agreement between Atos and the Ministry of Earth Sciences of India for the supply of supercomputers worth over Rs 920 crore.
• Civil aviation:Signing of technical and safety agreements in the field of civil aviation, towards supporting the expansion of routes between France and India, and the growth of the Indian civil aviation market

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Partnership for the planet, global issues

• Plastic pollution:Commitment of France and India for the adoption of an international treaty to put an end to plastic pollution throughout the entire life cycle of plastic products.
• Health:Signing of a Letter of Intent on health and medicine, to structure cooperation in hospitals, medical research, digital technology, biotechnology, public health and combating micro-bacterial resistance as part of the One Health approach.
  Blue economy: Launch of a partnership between l’lnstitut français de recherche pour l’exploitation de la mer (IFREMER – French Research Institute for Exploitation of the Sea) and India’s National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) on ocean research, under the roadmap on Blue Economy and Ocean Governance adopted by France and India in 2022.
• Financing the energy transition:Announcement of Rs 923 crore in financing from the French Development Agency for the second phase of India’s flagship sustainable cities programme “CITIIS 2.0”, in partnership with the European Union and KFW of Germany. Announcement of Rs 246 crore in financing from Proparco for the South Asia Growth Fund (SAGF III), which will invest in companies promoting energy efficiency, clean energy, and optimization of natural resources in the region. Announcement of a Rs 164-crore financing from Proparco with Satya Microcapital for giving women in rural India access to microfinance.
• Decarbonised hydrogen:Announcement of a partnership between McPhy and L&T on manufacturing electrolyzers in India, under the Indo-French roadmap for decarbonised hydrogen adopted in 2022.

Partnership for people

• Student mobility:New target of welcoming 30,000 Indian students in France by 2030. Issuance of a 5-year short-stay Schengen visa for Indian students with a Master’s degree who have studied at a university in France. Announcement by France of a significant increase in the resources of the Campus France network in India. Creation of international classes to facilitate the integration of non-French-speaking Indian students into the French higher education system. Signing of two MoUs between the Institut Polytechnique de Paris (IPP), and IIT Delhi and IIT Madras.
• Diplomatic and consular network:Announcement of the opening of a Consulate General of India in Marseille and a Bureau de France in Hyderabad.
• Culture:Announcement of France’s selection as India’s partner for the establishment of a major new National Museum in New Delhi. Announcement of an agreement between France Médias Monde and Prasar Bharati for the exchange of audio-visual content and the co-production of programmes on areas such as culture, education, science, and sports.
• Research:France and India will increase funding of the Indo-French Centre for the Promotion of Advanced Research (IFCPAR/CEFIPRA) in order to fund new projects together.
• Sports:Signing of a Letter of Intent to structure cooperation in this field, particularly in view of major upcoming sporting events.
• Civil society:Objective of doubling the number of solidarity and civic service international volunteers in India and France by 2025.

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