India, UAE, France establish trilateral cooperation initiative

The initiative will also act as a platform to bolster cooperation on sustainable projects between the development agencies of the three countries, which will also work to align their economic, technological and social policies with the objectives of the Paris Agreement, according to a joint statement

India, France and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Saturday announced the creation of a formal trilateral cooperation initiative for projects in solar and nuclear energy, the fight against climate change and joint production of military hardware.

EAm S Jaishankar (centre) with his counterparts from France Catherine Colonna (right) and UAE Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan (left) (Twitter/@DrSJaishankar)

The initiative will also act as a platform to bolster cooperation on sustainable projects between the development agencies of the three countries, which will also work to align their economic, technological and social policies with the objectives of the Paris Agreement, according to a joint statement.

While listing defence as an area of close cooperation, the three countries said efforts will be made to “further promote compatibility, and joint development and co-production, whilst seeking out avenues for further collaboration and training” between the armed forces.

The initiative follows the first meeting of the foreign ministers of India, France and the UAE on the margins of the UN General Assembly in New York on September 19, 2022. External affairs minister S Jaishankar and his counterparts from France and the UAE – Catherine Colonna and Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan – adopted a roadmap for implementing the initiative during a phone call on Saturday.

The three foreign ministers had agreed at their meeting last year to establish the trilateral cooperation initiative in line with the shared desire to promote international stability and prosperity and to build on constructive and collaborative ties between the three countries, the joint statement said.

The three sides agreed the trilateral initiative will serve as a “forum to promote the design and execution of cooperation projects in the fields of energy, with a focus on solar and nuclear energy, as well as in the fight against climate change and the protection of biodiversity, particularly in the Indian Ocean region”.

In this context, the three countries will explore the possibility of working with the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) to pursue “concrete, actionable projects on clean energy, the environment, and biodiversity”.

A range of trilateral events will be organised within the framework of India’s G20 presidency and the UAE’s hosting of COP28 in 2023. The three countries further agreed to expand cooperation through initiatives such as the Mangrove Alliance for Climate led by the UAE and the Indo-Pacific Parks Partnership led by India and France.

The three countries also agreed to focus on issues such as single-use plastic pollution, desertification and food security in the context of the International Year of Millets. They also underlined their desire to cooperate in the circular economy under India’s Mission LiFE (Lifestyle For Environment).

The three sides will seek to strengthen exchanges on emerging threats from infectious diseases and measures to fight future pandemics. Cooperation in multilateral bodies such as the World Health Organization (WHO), Gavi-the Vaccine Alliance, the Global Fund and Unitaid will be encouraged, and they will identify tangible cooperation for implementing the “One Health” approach while supporting the development of local capacities in biomedical innovation and production within developing countries.

They will also encourage the development of trilateral cooperation between academic and research institutions and efforts to promote co-innovation projects, technology transfer and entrepreneurship. In this context, trilateral conferences and meetings on the sidelines of high-level technology events such as Vivatech, Bengaluru Tech Summit and GITEX will be arranged to support cooperation.

India, France and the UAE will also use the trilateral initiative as a platform to promote cultural cooperation through joint projects, including heritage promotion and protection. ;