India, France push blue economy, defence ties

India and France on Tuesday “took stock of their bilateral relationship and discussed the potential for cooperation in sectors such as defence and security, space, cybersecurity and the digital economy, blue economy, education and people-to-people contacts, energy, health and climate change”. Foreign secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla and the visiting French secretarygeneral for foreign affairs François Delattre led their respective delegations during the foreign policy consultations on Tuesday during which “a number of regional and global issues of mutual interest, including cooperation in EU in view of the forthcoming French Presidency, IndoPacific,

UNSC, situation in Afghanistan” were also discussed. Reaffirming their joint commitment to global multilateralism, both sides also “reiterated their commitment to restarting negotiations on the India-EU Free Trade Agreement”.

Recently, French ambassador Emmanuel Lenain had also pushed for closer cultural, educational and people to people ties between the two nations while speaking at an event at the French International School of Delhi (Lycée Français International de Delhi). The French envoy had said, “We must continue to think about the future and attract more students that wish to participate in the French Education system, the terms of which have been defined by the Ministry of National

Education in France and is a baccalaureate that is more open to the world and helps develop critical thinking in the students.”

The foreign office talks come on the heels of the Annual Defence Dialogue held last week in New Delhi between defence minister Rajnath Singh and French minister for armed forces Florence Parly. “India’s trade with France has witnessed a steady rise in the last decade reaching $10.75 billion in 2020. Despite the pandemic, it is estimated that trade between the two countries in 2021 has reached $8.85 billion. To tap the full potential of bilateral trade and economic relations, both sides reiterated their commitment to restarting negotiations on the India-EU Free Trade Agreement,” the MEA said on Tuesday.