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.
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. 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.
{{/usCountry}}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.
{{/usCountry}}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.