India, France discuss defence and security cooperation

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.

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, Diplomatic Adviser to the President of France co-chaired the annual India-France Strategic Dialogue, in New Delhi.(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. 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.