August 22, 2019
India-France Administrative Economic and Trade Committee framework promotes bilateral trade and investment
The visit saw an agreement to train medical support personnel to participate in India’s manned space mission by 2022
A cybersecurity and digital tech road map has been adopted to expand ties in high performance computing, AI and IT
The leaders committed to fasten development and deployment of renewable energy through International Solar Alliance
The Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi, paid an official visit to France at the invitation of French President, Emmanuel Macron. The visit saw PM Modi attend a bilateral summit over August 22nd-23rd in Paris as well as the G7 Summit over August 25th-26th in Biarritz.
The visit was focussed on identifying new areas of cooperation between France and India as both sides acknowledged positive progress across many sectors. For example, the India-France Administrative Economic and Trade Committee (AETC) helps promote bilateral trade and investment between the two nations. Similarly, the desire to deepen space cooperation between the two aims to overcome mutual challenges in planetary exploration and human spaceflight, leading to the decision to train medical support personnel to participate in India’s manned space mission in 2022.
In digital space, the two leaders adopted roadmaps on cybersecurity and digital technology, specifically in supporting high performance computing, artificial intelligence, and the startup ecosystem. Another mainstay of the strategic partnership is defence industrial cooperation, through initiatives like ‘Make In India’ that are mutually beneficial to both countries. Between the Trade, Tourism, and Education sectors, there are many opportunities for individual citizens to benefit from this partnership in terms of skill development, knowledge sharing, and growth.
With the world facing an environmental crisis, both nations acknowledged the role they play in combating Climate Change, in line with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Paris Agreement. The two leaders committed to ensuring the accelerated development and deployment of renewable energy. Satisfied with the progress made by the International Solar Alliance, they identified achievements in capacity building and skill sharing among member nations.
The following agreements and MoUs were signed during PM Modi’s visit, signifying enhanced partnerships in select key sectors –