Finance
India and France agreed to collaborate closely in accordance with the Make in India initiatives to address challenges related to space issues, in addition to having stronger ties in climate change and defense-related matters.
Building on a great tradition of over 60 years of technical and scientific space cooperation, India and France agreed to establish a bilateral strategic dialogue on space issues during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to France in order to address the contemporary challenges that have arisen in space, particularly maintaining secure access to space for all.
“It will bring together experts from space and defence agencies, administration and specialised ecosystem to discuss security and economic challenges in outer space, the norms and principles applicable to space as well as unveil new areas of cooperation. The two sides agreed to hold the first dialogue this year at the earliest,” the joint statement from the meeting revealed.
During their meeting, Prime Minister Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron praised the ongoing intense cooperation across all defence domains. Joint exercises (Shakti, Varuna, Pegase, Desert Knight, and Garuda) highlight efforts to improve integration and interoperability wherever possible.
Meanwhile, India-France maritime cooperation has reached new levels of trust and will continue through exercises, exchanges, and joint endeavours throughout the Indian Ocean.
India and France emphasised that their long-standing armament cooperation demonstrates their mutual trust. The six Scorpene submarines built at MDL in Mumbai demonstrate the extent to which technology has been transferred from France to India in accordance with the “Make in India” initiative.
The two sides enjoy defence synergy, as evidenced by the timely delivery of the Rafale despite the pandemic. Continuing this momentum, and based on mutual trust, both sides agreed to find innovative ways for France to become more involved in “Atmanirbhar Bharat” (Self-reliant India) efforts in advanced defence technology, manufacturing, and exports, including by encouraging increased industry-to-industry partnerships.
In an increasingly digitalized world, India and France have strengthened their cyber security cooperation. Based on a shared vision, they agree to collaborate in promoting cyber norms and principles in order to combat cyber threats, and they agree to strengthen their bilateral cyber dialogue in order to contribute to a peaceful, secure, and open cyberspace.
The two sides have launched a number of initiatives to connect their Start-up ecosystems and welcome recent public-private engagement to collaborate on building standards and protocols for free, inclusive, innovative, and open public digital infrastructure and solutions to transform people’s lives and the larger global good, based on their respective successes. This year, India will be the first Country of the Year at this year’s edition of Vivatech, Europe’s largest digital fair, in Paris.
India and France have established one of the most important strategic alliances for advancing Indo-Pacific peace, stability, and prosperity. They share a vision of an Indo-Pacific region that is free, open, and rules-based, with a commitment to international law, respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, freedom of navigation, and a region free of coercion, tensions, and conflicts.
Meanwhile, India-Nordic relations are maturing; following PM Modi’s recent visit to the 2nd India-Nordic Summit, things are looking up.
During the Summit, the Prime Ministers pledged to continue deepening cooperation between the Nordic countries and India, and they focused their discussions on key issues related to international peace and security, such as the Ukraine conflict, multilateral cooperation, green transition and climate change, the blue economy, innovation, and digitalization. The Prime Ministers reaffirmed the importance of free trade as a driver of inclusive growth and the achievement of the SDGs.
Cooperation in the maritime sector was also discussed, with a focus on sustainable ocean management. The Prime Minister invited Nordic firms to invest in the Blue Economy sector, particularly in India’s Sagarmala project.
The partnership between India and the Nordic region in the Arctic Region was discussed. The Prime Minister stated that India’s Arctic Policy provides an excellent framework for expanding India-Nordic cooperation in the Arctic region.
Prime Minister Modi has invited Nordic sovereign wealth funds to invest in India.
India and the Nordic countries reaffirmed their support for a rules-based international order and multilateral institutions, as well as their commitment to work to make them more inclusive, transparent, and accountable in order to more effectively address global challenges.
This included efforts to reform the United Nations, including the Security Council, in order to make it more effective, transparent, and accountable, as well as efforts to reform the World Trade Organization and strengthen collaboration on global health issues, such as pandemic preparedness and response. The Nordic countries reaffirmed their support for India’s permanent seat on a reformed and expanded Security Council.
(from syndicate feed)
