India-France Dialogues
By (Prof.) Dr. D.K. Giri
(Secretary General, Assn for Democratic Socialism)
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar met Anne-Marie Descotes, Secretary General of the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs on Tuesday last to review the strategic partnership between the two countries. The meeting took place under the mechanism of Foreign Office Consultation (FOC) that has been taking place between India and France. The outcome of the meeting, according to Jaishankar is that “Strategic partnership between two nations is growing from strength to strength.”
During the meeting, both countries took stock of a various aspects of bilateralism which was initiated in the strategic partnership between the two launched on 26 January 1998. This was the first strategic partnership India had with any country. It embodies the core vision of both India and France of maintaining their respective strategic autonomies by drawing on a strong bilateral cooperation. The pillars of this partnership are sectors like defence and security, civil-nuclear matters, space, maritime security, digitalisation, cyber security, advance computing, counter terrorism, climate change, renewable energies, sustainable growth and development. It also has a strong India-Pacific component.
The other instrument which outlined the contours of bilateralism is the India-France Horizon 2047 Roadmap devised on 14 July 2023 when Prime Minister Modi visited Paris as a Guest of Honour on their National Day. This was when the strategic partnership completed 25 years. Now the Roadmap extends this partnership for another 25 years. The end of this period interestingly will mark the centenaries of India’s independence and diplomatic relations between both countries.
Just before the Prime Minister’s visit from 6-9 July, a four-day festival of India called ‘Namaste France’ was organised. The festival drew a lot of renowned Indian performing and visual artists – classical, modern and contemporary for live performances and exhibitions showcasing India’s diversity and culture and cuisine to over 2,000 visitors. The festival underlined the interest of people-to-people ties, and cultural exchanges. France has a centre for language and culture in New Delhi called Alliance Francaise in New Delhi.
On the recent dialogue, the FOC is the central mechanism between two countries that deals with all aspects of India-France exchanges. It offers a platform for both nations to align their priorities and cooperate effectively on shared challenges. Overall, the FOC consultations are indicative of strengthening bonds of friendship and cooperation between the two nations.
On 4 March, two other bilateral dialogues took place: India and France Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Dialogue. The two sides discussed developments relating to nuclear, chemical and biological domains. It also covered conventional weapons including AI in the military domain and lethal autonomous weapon systems and multilateral export control regimes. India has been committed to the goal of universal, non-discriminatory and verifiable nuclear disarmament. Furthermore, as a responsible nuclear-weapon state, India is committed to maintaining a minimum deterrence with the position of no-first use and no use against non-nuclear states.
The other meeting that took place on 5 March was the Strategic Space Dialogue, the second in the series. Under this, both sides reviewed the progress since the first dialogue and the bilateral engagement in the space sector. They also talked about possibility of cooperation in the G2G and commercial segments. The inaugural India-France Strategic Space Dialogue was held in Paris on 26 June 2023. There was also discussion on the implementation of the Letter of Intent recently signed on Defence Space Cooperation – capacity building, training and space exchanges and Defence Space Industrial Cooperation.
The India-French space partnership is nearly six decades old; it dates back to 1964 when India’s space programme was inchoate as it was experimenting with sounding rockets for Thumba in Kerala. The partnership that evolved covered collaborations in technologies for satellite launches, research, operational applications, innovation and NewSpace partnerships for Deep Space Exploration. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the French National Centre for Space Studies (CNES) have been partnering closely in the fields of space medicine, astronaut health monitoring, life support, radiation protection, space debris protection and personal hygiene systems.
The dialogue on Monday emphasised the importance of fostering a favourable environment for commercial space activities. Both the countries acknowledged the potential for growth and innovation in the commercial space segment and therefore expressed their commitment for building partnerships and facilitating investments to harness this potential. India and France seek to explore new horizons in space exploration while strengthening their long-standing partnership in science and technology.
The dialogues covered a wide range of issues and multiple sectors: science and technology, blue economy, institutional dialogue mechanism, cooperation in Indo-Pacific region, climate action, energy transition, health, trilateral and plurilateral cooperation. On political front, it covered UNSC reforms, the ongoing war in Gaza, and the tension in Red Sea and Russia-Ukraine conflict.
India-France bilateral relations go back to the 17th century when trade exchanges started between two countries. Until 1954, France maintained a colonial presence in the Indian Sub-Continent. In particular, a former French territory, Puducherry is a popular tourism destination of numerous French travellers to India. After the signing of strategic partnership in 1998, the progress in all areas of bilateral cooperation has been significant. There have been regular high-level exchanges. The commercial exchanges also have grown in areas like defence, nuclear energy and space.
In fact, France was the first country with which India entered into a Nuclear Energy Agreement following the waiver given by IAEA – International Autonomic Energy Agency and Nuclear Supplier Group. The waiver enabled India to begin full civil nuclear cooperation with the international community.
The dialogues on 4 and 5 March foster the relationship between France and India in terms of collaboration with deeper understanding on shared priorities and challenges. The relationship is built on shared interests on several areas in Indian Pacific region and other global issues. Prime Minister Modi and President Macron share a strong bond. In August 2019, France has been called “India’s new best friend” by the Hudson Institute, an American think tank based in Washington.
France is inviting Indian students in a big way to study in French institutions. As many as 1700 courses are taught in English language in French institutions. There are up to 400000 Indians working in French companies in India. To bolster India’s defence, 36 Rafael Aircrafts have been delivered.
All in all, France is considered to be a steady and reliable partner. As India wishes to see and seeks to build a multipolar world, France will be a big ally. France has been opposed to the hegemony of either United States or former Soviet Union. Hence it reconciles to and collaborated with Germany in constructing the European Union as a new pole of influence in the world politics. EU has not become so is another discussion. In any case, the India-France relation is good for both countries and may contribute to shaping a new world order. — INFA