India, France discuss defence and security cooperation

Bonne conveyed Macron’s “message of friendship” to Modi and they also discussed other areas of cooperation such as energy, the external affairs ministry said.

National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and his French counterpart Emmanuel Bonne on Thursday held wide-ranging discussions on defence and security cooperation, with the talks also preparing the grounds for a visit to India by French President Emmanuel Macron.

NSA Ajit Doval and Emmanuel Bonne, in New Delhi on Thursday. (ANI)

During the talks, India and France reiterated their commitment to take forward their strategic partnership to “ensure peace, stability and security in the Indo-Pacific based on common beliefs in rules-based international order and strategic autonomy”, the external affairs ministry said in a statement.

Besides participating in the 36th session of the India-French Strategic Dialogue with Doval, Bonne met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, external affairs minister S Jaishankar and G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant. In addition to being the diplomatic advisor to the French president, Bonne is France’s G7-G20 sherpa.

At his meeting with Bonne, Modi highlighted the close India-France cooperation in various domains of their strategic partnership, including defence, security and the Indo-Pacific. He welcomed France’s support to India’s G20 presidency.

Bonne conveyed Macron’s “message of friendship” to Modi and they also discussed other areas of cooperation such as energy, the external affairs ministry said.

Modi recalled his meeting with Macron during the G20 Summit in Bali and conveyed his invitation to the French president to visit India. Bonne said Macron “looks forward to his early visit to India”.

People familiar with the matter said the talks also paved the way for a visit by Macron, who is expected to travel to India sometime in the first quarter. The French side proposed a visit in March but the final dates are yet to be locked down, the people said. March is set to be a busy month in the diplomatic calendar, with other high-profile visits and an expected meeting of G20 foreign ministers.

External affairs ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said Doval and Bonne held discussions on a range of issues, including the current global security situation in the context of Ukraine conflict, regional security in the context of Afghanistan, counter-terrorism, cyber-security and defence cooperation in the Indo-Pacific.

The two sides discussed “expanding the scope of defence cooperation to include co-development of futuristic technologies in line with India’s priorities of Make in India and Atmanirbhar Bharat”, the ministry’s statement said. There were also discussions on third country cooperation, nuclear energy and space.

“Both sides also agreed to strengthen bilateral defence and security cooperation, including in the South West Indian Ocean Region and the Indo-Pacific and pursuit of new initiatives in critical and emerging technologies,” the statement said.

In view of emerging uncertainties and the volatile global security environment, India and France agreed on closer cooperation in the UN Security Council and other multilateral forums.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the India-French strategic partnership, and the French side said in a statement that the two sides “agreed to raise the level of ambition of our cooperation even further with the goal of accelerating efforts towards strategic autonomy”.

Bonne stressed France’s full support for India’s G20 presidency and conveyed Macron’s message that “Indo-French cooperation would be key to tackling global challenges in 2023”. Bonne also reiterated France’s support for a permanent UN Security Council seat for India.