India-France talks: Modi, Macron address maritime disruptions in Red Sea, to strengthen defence ties

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron during the latter's visit to India as a chief guest on Republic Day held discussionsconcerning the Red Sea conflict.

In a press briefing, Indian Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said, "With regard to developments in the Red Sea, the disruptions, the potential disruption, and the actual things happening in the maritime domain there, which is causing disruption to commercial shipping, indeed is a matter of serious concern, and both leaders focused on it."

The two leaders, Kwatra said, also discussedbilateral partnership andthe ongoing Israel-Hamas war. Various aspects of theWest Asia conflict including, "the terror dimension, the humanitarian dimension, the civil disruption dimension, all those things came up for discussion and both leaders shared their perspectives..." Kwatra noted.

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Highlighting the robust defence cooperation between India and France, Kwatra said, the two countries have agreed to adopt defence production roadmap.

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It will involve identifying areas for partnership in the "defence industrial sector that prioritise co-designing, co-development, co-production and also building the defence supply chains between the two countries so that they can not only fulfil the defence needs of India and France, but also can be a useful contributor to the security partnership with other countries who might be in use of similar products."

Speaking on the specific agreements reached during the visit, Kwatra detailed, "These are the documents which have been agreed upon. Roadmap on the India-France Defence Industrial Roadmap. Second is an agreement on Defence space partnership. Third- an MoU between New Space India Limited (NSIL) and Arianespace with regard to satellite launches. An industrial partnership between Tata and Airbus helicopters for the production of H125 helicopters with a significant indigenous and localization component."

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"Agreement between Department of Science and Technology... Also an agreement between two ministries of health on healthcare cooperation, education, training and research. This would include the space of digital health and the use of artificial intelligence in the healthcare sector...It's been agreed that the year 2026 will be celebrated as the India-France year of innovation," the foreign secretary added.

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Kwatra also shared information on the completion of the Indian consulate in Marseille, and the French bureau in Hyderabad and plans to establish a solar academy in Senegal under the International Solar Alliance.

"The year 2026 will be celebrated as India-France year of innovation," Kwatra said.

He also provided additional details on President Macron's visit, mentioning the 40-member delegation accompanying him, the meeting between the Indian External Affairs Minister and the French Foreign Minister, and the cultural experiences shared between the leaders during their talks in Jaipur.

President Macron's presence at the Republic Day parade, including an at-home reception and a state banquet hosted by President Droupadi Murmu, were also highlighted in the press briefing.

(With inputs from agencies)