BOOSTING TRADE & INVESTMENTS, NEW PACTS ACROSS ENERGY, DEFENCE LIKELY IN INDIA-FRANCE TALKS

As President of France Emmanuel Macron lands in India to be the Chief Guest for the Republic Day celebrations, the visit will be a befitting culmination of a 10-month successive run of economic engagement and gains spanning April-to-January period of FY 2023-24 which saw the bilateral relationship cross significant milestones in the 25 years of their strategic partnership.

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Building on this strong edifice, the visit is expected to provide an impetus to various domains of mutual interest, ranging from Defence cooperation to economic ties and from energy collaboration to space and nuclear partnerships. The discussions will likely pave the way for new agreements and deepen existing cooperation, reflecting the dynamic and evolving nature of the India-France strategic partnership.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Macron are set to discuss Indo-Pacific cooperation, counterterrorism and Defence collaboration, bilateral trade and investment, clean energy and climate change global governance and multilateralism space cooperation and civil nuclear cooperation, according to Ajay Srivastava, Founder, Global Trade Research initiative (GTRI).

A study of economic engagements between April to January of FY24 by the Business Guardian saw an upswing in several areas of the bilateral commercial ties. France was among the top three importers of India’s aircrafts and spacecrafts during April-November 2023-24 in India’s total global exports of the product. The Vibrant Gujarat Roadshow in Paris held on 31 October, 2023, saw participation of 80 high-profile delegations demonstrating the immense potential of collaboration between the state Government and France.