INDIA-FRANCE RELATIONS

• Recently, the External Affairs Minister of India held talks with his French counterpart.
• The two Ministers agreed to jointly launch the Indo-French call for an Indo-Pacific Parks Partnership.
• This partnership aims to build capacities in the Indo-Pacific region, in terms of sustainable management of protected areas, by gathering and sharing the experiences and expertise that exist in the region among key Indo-Pacific public & private natural park managers.
• India-France Roadmap on the Blue Economy and Ocean Governance: Both sides also adopted the “India-France Roadmap on the Blue Economy and Ocean Governance”.
• The roadmap aims to enhance partnership in the field of blue economy by way of institutional, economic, infrastructural and scientific cooperation.
• They also agreed to intensify India-E.U. ties under the French Presidency, and the need to begin negotiations on the Free Trade and Investment Agreements and implement the India-E.U. Connectivity Partnership.: They also agreed to coordinate in the United Nations Security Council on issues of mutual concern.
• Both Ministers agreed to further deepen the Strategic Partnership, particularly in the areas of trade and investments, defence and security, health, education, research and innovation, energy and climate change.
• Agreed to soon conclude a Joint Declaration of Intent in the Area of Sports, aimed at further facilitating people-to-people contact.
• Strengthening the long-standing cooperation on public administration and administrative reforms between the relevant authorities.

India-France Relations

• France was one of the first countries with which India signed a “strategic partnership” after the end of the Cold War, in January 1998.
• France was one of the very few countries to support India’s decision to test nuclear weapons in 1998.
• Today, France has emerged as India’s most reliable partner on issues relating to terrorism and Kashmir.
• Both countries have a defence dialogue at the Ministerial level.

Way Forward

• France has opened the pathway for deeper engagement with Europe on global issues, especially after uncertainty in the region due to BREXIT.
• The new partnerships with France, Germany and other like-minded countries like Japan would hopefully turn out to be far more consequential for India’s influence on the global stage.

SOURCE: THE HINDU,THE ECONOMIC TIMES,MINT