India, UAE, France agree to boost defence, energy coop
In a bid to strengthen cooperation in defence, energy and other sectors, India, France and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Saturday agreed on a trilateral initiative to promote compatibility and collaboration between the three nations. The initiative was finalised during a phone conversation between external affairs minister S. Jaishankar and his French and UAE counterparts. As part of the agreement, a range of trilateral events will be organised within the framework of India’s G-20 presidency and the COP28, which the UAE is hosting.
Last September 19, on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, the three ministers had met for the first time in a trilateral format and had “agreed to establish a formal trilateral cooperation initiative with the aim of expanding cooperation in various fields of mutual interest.
The trilateral move comes as India and France step up cooperation in the Asia-Pacific with an eye on China, while the UAE and India are already part of the I2U2 grouping along with the United States and Israel for infrastructure initiatives.
In a joint statement, the three nations also agreed to “explore the possibility of working with the
Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) to pursue concrete, actionable projects on clean energy, the environment and biodiversity” and to expand cooperation between the three countries’ development agencies on sustainable projects while seeking to ensure greater alignment of their respective economic, technological, and social policies. The initiative will also participate in “the fight against climate change and the protection of biodiversity, particularly in the Indian Ocean region.
The joint statement said: “The three countries also agreed to expand their cooperation through initiatives such as the Mangrove Alliance for
Climate led by the UAE and the IndoPacific Parks Partnership led by India and France. It was agreed that the three countries should seek to focus on key issues such as single-use plastic pollution, desertification and food security in the context of the International Year of Millet 2023. The three sides also underlined their keen desire to cooperate in the field of the circular economy under the aegis of India’s Mission LiFE.”
On cooperation in the health sector, it added, “The three countries will also seek to strengthen exchanges of views on emerging threats from infectious diseases, as well as on measures to fight against future pandemics. In this regard, cooperation in multilateral organizations such as World Health Organisation (WHO), Gavi-the Vaccine Alliance, the Global Fund, and Unitaid will be encouraged. Further, the three countries will attempt to identify tangible cooperation on implementing the “One Health” approach, and support the development of local capacities in biomedical innovation and production within developing countries.
On technology, the three nations stated: “As countries at the very forefront of technological innovation, the development of trilateral cooperation between relevant academic and research institutions and efforts to promote co-innovation projects, technology transfer and entrepreneurship will be encouraged. In this context, trilateral conferences and meetings on the sidelines of high-level technology events such as Vivatech, Bengaluru Tech Summit and GITEX will be arranged to support such cooperation.” On the culture front, they said: “Finally, in recognition of the critical role social and human bonds play in their constructive partnership, France, India and the UAE will ensure that this trilateral initiative will be leveraged as a platform to promote cultural cooperation through a range of joint projects, including heritage promotion and protection.”