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G20: India, France review bilateral cooperation; Modi meets Norway, Portugal counterparts

Nov 19, 2024 03:58 PM IST

India and France cooperate closely on strategic matters and defence issues, including the joint development of military hardware such as aircraft engines.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron have agreed to speed up cooperation in key areas such as defence and civil nuclear energy in order to reinforce a shared commitment to strategic autonomy. The two leaders reviewed cooperation in a wide range of areas, including trade, technology and digital matters, at their meeting on the margins of the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro on Monday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with French President Emmanuel Macron on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro on Monday. (Official handout)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi with French President Emmanuel Macron on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro on Monday. (Official handout)

This was their third meeting this year after Macron’s visit to India as chief guest for the Republic Day celebrations in January and a meeting on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Italy in June.

Modi and Macron expressed satisfaction at the progress in bilateral cooperation, “including in strategic areas such as defence, space and civil nuclear energy, and committed to accelerating it further with a view to reinforcing their shared commitment to strategic autonomy”, the external affairs ministry said in a readout.

“We talked about how India and France will keep working closely in sectors like space, energy, AI and other such futuristic areas,” Modi said in a post on X after meeting Macron, whom he referred to as “my friend”.

Macron said in a separate post on X that the two sides reviewed progress on initiatives launched during his visit to India in January and discussed key international issues.

India and France cooperate closely on strategic matters and defence issues, including the joint development of military hardware such as aircraft engines. The Indian Air Force currently operates 36 Rafale combat jets and the Indian Navy has plans to acquire 26 Rafale M jets. The two sides are also engaged in negotiations on building small modular nuclear reactors.

During the meeting, Modi and Macron also agreed to advance the bilateral strategic partnership and their shared vision for bilateral cooperation and international partnership, as outlined in the Horizon 2047 roadmap. They commended the strengthening of trade, investment and technology ties, including in digital technology and through the partnership on digital public infrastructure.

Both leaders discussed regional and international issues, including the Indo-Pacific, and their work to reform multilateralism and help build a stable international order. They also reviewed progress in cooperation on India’s National Museum project.

PM’s other bilateral meetings

Modi held a separate meeting with Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store and discussed ways to strengthen cooperation in various fields. The two leaders described the signing of the Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement between India and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) as an important milestone and reaffirmed its significance for attracting greater investments into India.

Their discussions also focused on enhancing cooperation in the blue economy, renewable energy, green hydrogen, solar and wind projects, geothermal energy, green shipping, carbon capture utilization and storage, fisheries and the Arctic.

Modi said on X after the meeting: “Our Arctic Policy has led to further cementing of India-Norway bilateral relations. We talked about how investment linkages between our nations can improve, particularly in renewable energy, green hydrogen and the blue economy.”

Store said in a separate post that the India-EFTA trade deal has led to new possibilities for cooperation and job creation, and that he and Modi “discussed the common interests of free trade between our two countries, and the war in Ukraine and in the Middle East”.

Modi and his Portuguese counterpart Luís Montenegro, in their first meeting on the margins of the G20 Summit, discussed cooperation in trade, investment, defence, technology, tourism and people-to-people ties. They emphasised the potential for collaboration in new and emerging areas such as IT, digital technologies, renewable energy, innovation and mobility of professionals and skilled workers.

The two leaders also exchanged views on regional developments and global issues, including India-EU ties. Modi conveyed his desire to work with Montenegro, who assumed office in April, to strengthen bilateral ties.

“India cherishes the long-standing ties with Portugal. Our talks focused on adding more vigour to our economic linkages. Sectors like renewable energy and green hydrogen offer many opportunities for more collaboration,” Modi said on X.

Modi also held his first meeting with Indonesia’s newly elected President Prabowo Subianto on the margins of the G20 Summit and discussed cooperation in trade, investment, defence, security, connectivity, tourism and health.

The leaders exchanged views on global and regional issues and called for giving priority to the concerns of the Global South within the G20, the external affairs ministry said in a readout. They also reviewed cooperation in multilateral and plurilateral arenas, including ASEAN.

“Delighted to meet President Prabowo Subianto during the G20 Summit in Brazil. This year is special as we are marking 75 years of India-Indonesia diplomatic relations. Our talks focused on improving ties in commerce, security, healthcare, pharmaceuticals and more,” Modi said on X.

In his televised remarks at the meeting, Prabowo said he is committed to enhancing relations with India in all fields. Indonesia is happy about the growing presence of Indian firms and entrepreneurs in sectors such as health and pharmaceuticals. “We are opening up our health sector. Even foreign hospitals can open local branches and operate in Indonesia,” he said, adding that the country has a shortage of 160,000 doctors.

Indonesia needs India’s help for the deputation of specialists to teach at new medical colleges, Prabowo added.

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