The two leaders stressed the urgent need for reforming UNSC and agreed to coordinate closely in multilateral forums
India and France signed a declaration of Intent on establishing a partnership on Advanced Modular Reactors and Small Modular Reactors, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Emmanuel Macron also launching an India-France Roadmap on Artificial Intelligence (AI).
The joint statement released at the conclusion of Modi’s visit to France said the two leaders reiterated their call for reformed and effective multilateralism to sustain an equitable and peaceful international order, address pressing global challenges, and prepare the world for emerging developments, including in the technological and economic domains.
The two leaders stressed the urgent need for reforming the United Nations Security Council and agreed to coordinate closely in multilateral forums, including on UNSC matters.
France reiterated its firm support for India’s permanent membership of the UNSC. The two leaders agreed to strengthen conversations on regulation of use of the veto in case of mass atrocities. They held extensive discussions on long-term global challenges and current international developments and agreed to intensify their global and regional engagement, including through multilateral initiatives and institutions.
Acknowledging the paramount importance of advancing scientific knowledge, research and innovation, and recalling the long and enduring engagement between India and France in those areas, President Macron and Prime Minister Modi announced the grand inauguration of the India-France Year of Innovation in New Delhi in March 2026 by launching its Logo.
Recalling the deep and longstanding defence cooperation between France and India as part of the Strategic Partnership, President Macron and PM Modi welcomed the continuation of the cooperation of air and maritime assets in line with the ambitious Defence Industrial Roadmap agreed in 2024.
Both leaders commended progress in collaboration in construction of Scorpene submarines in India, including indigenization, and in particular the work carried out with a view to the integration of DRDO developed Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) into P75-Scorpene submarines and the analyses conducted regarding the possible integration of the Integrated Combat System (ICS) into the future P75-AS submarines.
Both leaders welcomed the commissioning of the sixth and final submarine of the P75 Scorpene-class project, INS Vaghsheer in January this year.
Both sides welcomed the ongoing discussions in missiles, helicopter engines and jet engines.
They also welcomed the excellent cooperation between the relevant entities in the Safran group and their Indian counterparts.
Prime Minister Modi also invited the French Army to take a closer look at the Pinaka MBLR, emphasizing that an acquisition of this system by France would be another milestone in Indo-French defence ties.
In addition, President Macron welcomed the decision to include India as an observer to the Eurodrone MALE programme managed by OCCAR, which is another step forward in the growing strength of partnership in defence equipment programmes.
The two leaders welcomed the launch of FRIND-X (France-India Defence Startup Excellence) in Paris on 5-6 December 2024, involving the DGA and the Defence Innovation Agency, in line with the vision enshrined in HORIZON 2047 and the India-France Defence Industrial Roadmap. This collaborative platform brings together key stakeholders across both defence ecosystems, including defence startups, investors, incubators, accelerators, and academia, fostering a new era of defence innovation and partnership.
In order to deepen the research and development partnerships in defence, both leaders stressed on the early launch of an R&D framework through a Technical Arrangement for cooperation in defence technologies between DGA and DRDO. In addition, both leaders welcomed the ongoing discussions between L’Office National d’Etudes et de Recherches Aerospatiales (ONERA) and Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to identify technologies for R&D partnerships.
India welcomed the participation of Indian students, alongside French students, in the challenge on distributed intelligence launched recently by Interdisciplinary Center for Defence and Security from the Institut Polytechnique de Paris and encouraged organizing of more joint challenges in the future to evoke the interest of students in defence.
Both leaders had a detailed conversation on international issues, including on the Middle-East and the war in Ukraine. They agreed to pursue their efforts to coordinate and remain closely engaged on a regular basis.
The two leaders recalled the launch of the India-Middle East-Europe Corridor (IMEC) on the margins of the G20 Summit in Delhi in September 2023 and agreed to work together more closely on implementing the initiative. Both leaders stressed the importance of IMEC to foster connectivity, sustainable growth trajectories and access to clean energy across these regions. In this regard, they acknowledged the strategic location of Marseille in the Mediterranean Sea.
They underlined the key importance of strengthening EU-India relations, in view of the upcoming India-EU summit at the earliest possible in New Delhi.
They appreciated the growing cooperation in trilateral format with Australia and with the United Arab Emirates.
They commended the joint military exercises that took place between France, India and the United Arab Emirates, as well as the participation of India, France and Australia in each others’ multilateral military exercises.
They welcomed the ongoing discussions to create a comprehensive framework for an enhanced bilateral cooperation in the civil aviation sector, which are at advanced stages. (ANI)
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