French Minister for Armed Forces visits India

Florence Parly, the French Minister for the Armed Forces visited India in late October and in meetings with her counterpart Nirmala Sitharaman discussed areas of mutual cooperation in the defence sector. This was followed by a meeting with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who said that he had “hoped to receive French President Emanuel Macron at his earliest convenience.”Also discussed was Indo-French Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific and the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).

Florence Parly later visited Bombay and met with Vice Admiral Girish Luthra, the FOC-in-C , Western Naval Command. Aspects related to maritime security cooperation, bilateral exercises, ship visits, training, equipment, technology and professional exchanges were discussed. Interaction between the Indian Navy and the French Navy has, over the years, nurtured into a strong partnership based on mutual interests. Naval cooperation had progressed most encouragingly in recent years and the increasing scale of operational interaction “is indicative of a growing understanding between the two navies.”