Co-Development Rather Than Co-Production Will Be Focus of India-France Ties, Sources Say

Co-development, rather than co-production, will be the focus of India-France
ties, as the two countries prepare to mark 25 years of their strategic
partnership next week, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi travels to Paris to
attend France’s National day parade.
On July 6, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval received his French
counterpart Emmanuel Bonne, diplomatic advisor to French President Emmanuel
Macron, with the “main agenda” of making preparations for the visit,
government sources said.
“Defence, energy, space, new technologies and more: We are working on an
ambitious agenda for the strategic partnership,” said a tweet from the French
Embassy in Delhi.
According to sources aware of the plans, France hopes to see a number of
contracts and agreements announced during Mr. Modi’s visit. Deals for Rafale-M
(Marine) planes for the navy and the joint development of jet engines for
fighter aircraft are on the table for the talks.
The discussion on jet engines — for an agreement between the Defence Research
and Development Organisation (DRDO) and French defence major Safran — is
significant, as it comes on the heels of the GE-HAL MoU announced during Mr.
Modi’s visit to Washington last month. The sources pointed out that the
Indo-French deal would not be simply to “transfer production” to India, but a
partnership between engineers of both countries to research and develop
technology for a new engine together. The deal with Safran has been speculated
about especially after the Prime Minister met with Safran group chairman Ross
McInnes in Delhi in April this year to discuss possibilities in the Indian
aviation market, defence and space.
E. Bonne, Diplomatic Advisor to Prez @EmmanuelMacron, called on PM @NarendraModi ahead of his visit to Paris on July 14.
— French Embassy in India 🇫🇷🇪🇺 (@FranceinIndia) July 6, 2023
Preparations are in full swing to welcome India as guest of honour of France's National Day, and chart a new roadmap for our 🇫🇷🇮🇳 strategic partnership. https://t.co/se6pT8xVzz
In 2015, Mr. Modi had made a break from the tradition of not signing defence
deals during Prime Ministerial trips, when he announced the purchase of 36
“ready to fly” Rafale fighter jets while he was in Paris. Officials said they
hoped to see similar announcements during the upcoming visit.
Space, Nuclear Collaboration
India and France are also hoping to strengthen ties over collaboration in
space that dates back to the 1960s, when the Indian Space Research
Organisation (ISRO) and its French counterpart Centre National de Etudes
Spatiales (CNES) worked on setting up rocket launching facilities in India.
Apart from collaborations in launching satellites, the two sides are looking
at training astronauts and partnerships in space industrial engineering, it is
learnt.
In addition, the two sides hope to make some progress on the long-stuck
nuclear deal for reactors in India, and on education opportunities and visas
for students.
However, the major spotlight will be on charting the future course for the
India-France strategic partnership for the next 25 years, they said.
Originally signed in 1998, this was India’s first strategic partnership
agreement with any country.
Strategic Partnership
In particular, India and France share a commitment to “strategic autonomy” in
their foreign policy. In April this year, Mr. Macron had ruffled feathers
around the world after a visit to China, where he said that European countries
should not become “vassals” to the U.S.’s policies, referring to China. While
both countries see China as a strategic threat, including at the Line of
Actual Control with India and in the Taiwan straits, they also have
interlinked economies. Despite tensions at the border and virtually no
political dialogue between Delhi and Beijing, bilateral trade has been
climbing year on year, and the trade deficit crossed $100 billion for the
first time last year.
Similarly, French officials have made the point that French ties with China
are more “complex” than any one issue, and Mr. Modi and Mr. Macron are
expected to discuss the issues with handling China at some length. France has
launched its own independent “Indo-Pacific” strategy, and hopes to discuss
more naval exchanges, including exercises, joint patrol, reconnaissance
operations and port calls to the French Indo-Pacific island of Reunion. It
would also like to see the Andaman Islands base becoming a promising new area
of strategic cooperation.
Mr. Modi will be the chief guest at the Bastille Day parade on July 14, the
second Indian Prime Minister to be accorded the honour after Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh in 2009. Mr. Modi and Mr. Macron will inspect the march past
including Indian soldiers, and a flypast that will include Indian Air Force
pilots in Rafale jets in the sky.
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