Due to diplomatic visits, few global capitals have been as busy as New Delhi. French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna’s three-day visit to India, which began yesterday, was the latest in a series of high-profile visits. Development cooperation, defense ties and joint efforts to combat climate change dominated the agenda.
This is Minister Colonna’s first visit to any country in Asia, a decision he said was made “voluntarily”, given the importance of the India-France partnership.
The development agenda between the two countries took a step forward with the announcement of financing measures for several development projects in sectors such as agriculture and drinking water. The Trilateral Development Fund appears to have arrived largely because India and France “agreed to work towards the establishment of an Indo-Pacific Trilateral Development Cooperation Fund that supports sustainable innovative solutions for countries in the region”. will do.”
On defense cooperation, the Foreign Ministers welcomed the decision of the French multinational Safran Group to set up an aircraft engine facility in Hyderabad. According to a press release by the Ministry of External Affairs, the investment will be worth USD 150 million. The announcement came as the French Air Force is engaged in a five-week-long lightning launch exercise in the Indo-Pacific. These exercises have seen French fighter jets fly rapidly to Asia directly from France, which is seen to enhance the European power’s ability to respond to crises in the region.
Climate action also took center stage during the talks. Under the auspices of the International Solar Alliance’s STAR-C programme, Senegal, Bhutan and Papua New Guinea will receive funding for solar energy training and R&D centres. Minister Jaishankar pointed to the France-funded STAR-C program as an example of what the India-France partnership can achieve.
Finally, both sides also worked to advance people-to-people ties. France unveiled plans to welcome 20,000 Indian students to India by 2025. In addition, New Delhi and Paris also announced their intention to facilitate the exchange of 500 young persons as part of a Young Professionals Scheme. According to the Ministry of External Affairs, these would be persons “who are willing to contribute to the deepening of economic, scientific and technological and cultural ties between the two countries.”
The ministers will meet again in New York later this month and hold trilateral meetings with India, France and Australia.
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