WE WILL GIVE AN ADDITIONAL DIMENSION TO OUR STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP

The strategic partnership between India and France, which will complete 25 years next year, has not just deepened but also considerably expanded India-France relations since it was announced in 1998. Regarded as one of India's most reliable partners, ties with France, particularly in defence, have gained as much salience as New Delhi's relations with Moscow. That was evident when CATHERINE COLONNA, France's new foreign minister, made her maiden visit to India on September 13-15 after she was appointed in May 2022. In an exclusive interview to Group Editorial Director RAJ CHENGAPPA, Colonna spoke candidly on a range of key issues, from bilateral ones that included enhancing defence cooperation, to global concerns, such as how to join forces to ensure peace in the Indo-Pacific region, how to resolve the Russia-Ukraine war, combating terror in all forms and the role India can play when it becomes president of the G20 later this year. 

- RAJ CHENGAPPA

Q. You’ve had a very long day. You’ve had a meeting with the prime minister, our external affairs minister as well as the national security advisor. What would you say is your one big takeaway from these meetings?

A. We had a long day; that’s correct. But I would say that we had a fruitful day, which is more important. I was honoured to be received by Prime Minister Modi and I had long and useful conversations with [EAM S.] Jaishankar and the national security advisor. We aim to give an additional dimension to our strategic partnership. We’ve had a long-lasting, fruitful partnership. We are reliable partners, and we forged it in 1998.

Q. I am told you were with President [Jacques] Chirac when the entire strategic partnership happened.

A. Exactly. I am fortunate enough to have been there, in ’98. I was the spokesperson for the late president when we launched this partnership. And I am fortunate enough today to see how much progress we have made, 25 years later. What a fantastic adventure! And we are building our partnership day-to-day: for ourselves, for common strategic autonomy, and also for the region. We are really two powers [that] dedicate most of their efforts in the region to promote peace, stability and development, and we are proud of that.

Q. I am going to come to that, but before that, a bilateral question, about India-France defence relations, which have been very strong. In recent years, India is building self-reliance. How can France help India do that, particularly in the areas of, say, fighter jet engines that India is looking for?