Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, Nov.6: France reiterated its commitment to fully support Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat and defence industrialisation, joint research and technology development in India across a wide range of advanced capabilities, the Indian embassy in Paris said on Saturday.
This came after a meeting between National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Emmanuel Bonne, the Diplomatic Advisor to French President Emmanuel Macron. What the statement does not say is that France is eager to collaborate with India on the development of cutting-edge military technologies in the air, sea, land, and cyber sectors.
Doval also met with French foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and defence minister Florence Parly on the sidelines of the biennial India-France Strategic Dialogue. He reaffirmed France’s status as one of India’s most important global and Indo-Pacific partners.
According to the Indian embassy, France highlighted the importance of maintaining its commitment to the Indo-Pacific area, calling India’s partnership a “key component of its Indo-Pacific strategy.”
During the annual strategic dialogue and meetings, the two sides reaffirmed that their strategic partnership is critical to advancing peace, stability, and security in the Indo-Pacific region, a vision articulated during PM Modi’s recent meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron on the sidelines of the G20 Summit.
The Indian and French delegations reviewed the global security environment, as well as current events and long-term issues in the Indo-Pacific region, the situation in Afghanistan, and the ongoing threat of terrorism. Emerging challenges in the marine, cyber, and space sectors were also reviewed, with the participants agreeing that current global trends strengthen the need for tighter cooperation between India and France, particularly in international forums.
According to the embassy, the mutual trust and partnership between the two countries is based on democratic ideals and a shared conviction in strategic autonomy, rule of law, multi-polarity, and multilateralism.
