Prime Minister Held Official Talks with President of France

Syllabus: GS2/IR

Context

• PM Modi held bilateral talks with French President Emmanuel Macron in France.
  • This marked the first meeting between the two leaders since India-France ties were elevated to a “Special Global Strategic Partnership” earlier this year.

Major Highlights

• Adoption of the “Innovation Roadmap 2030”, aimed at providing long-term direction to bilateral cooperation in technology and innovation. 
• The two leaders also agreed to establish a Joint India-France AI Working Group to deepen collaboration in artificial intelligence.
• Jointly inaugurated the maiden edition of Bharat Innovates 2026, it is an initiative of the Union Ministry of Education.
  • It serves as a premier platform for advancing innovation-led partnerships between India’s deep tech innovators and global stakeholders.

Major Highlights of the India-France Relations

• India–France Strategic Partnership: It was launched on 26 January 1998 and is India’s first-ever Strategic Partnership.
  • Core vision: Enhance strategic autonomy and deepen bilateral cooperation.
  • Key Strategic Pillars: Defence and security, Civil nuclear cooperation and Space collaboration.
  • Expanding areas: Indo-Pacific cooperation, maritime security, digitalisation, cyber security, climate change, sustainable development, advanced technologies, and, counter-terrorism.
• Defence Cooperation: It is reviewed via the Annual Defence Dialogue (Minister-level) and High Committee on Defence Cooperation (HCDC) (Secretary-level).
  • Rafale Fighter Jets: India procured 36 Rafales from Dassault Aviation.
  • Scorpene Submarines (Project P-75): Collaboration with France’s Naval Group, 6 submarines built in India; latest is INS Vagsheer.
  • Combat Aircraft Engine Development: HAL and France’s Safran Helicopter Engines signed an agreement under the IMRH programme to co-develop engines.
  • Recently both nations formally concluded an Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) to procure 26 Rafale-M fighter jets for the Indian Navy. 
  • Future plans: Co-development of next-gen fighter jet engines.
  • Joint Exercises: Shakti, Varuna, FRINJEX-23.
• Economic Cooperation: France is India’s third-largest trading partner within the European Union, after the Netherlands and Germany.
  • Bilateral trade has more than doubled over the past decade, reaching Euros 13.59 billion (USD 15.81 billion) in 2025-26. 
  • The trade relationship is expected to gain further momentum following the signing of the India-European Union Free Trade Agreement.
  • Both countries are also moving to jointly develop technologies and integrate existing technologies. 
  • The process of enabling Unified Payment Interface (UPI) has been successful in France.
• Space Cooperation: There is a over 60 years of collaboration between ISRO and CNES (French space agency)
  • France is a key supplier of components, launch services (Arianespace).
  • Joint missions: TRISHNA (satellite mission), MDA systems, ground station support.
• Energy Cooperation: 
  • International Solar Alliance (ISA): Co-founded by India and France in 2015 to promote solar energy worldwide.
  • Nuclear Energy Cooperation: The first meeting of the special task force on nuclear energy in the framework of the Indo-French Strategic Dialogue, was convened in 2025.
    • Both sides have agreed to work on establishing a partnership on low and medium power modular reactors or Small Modular Reactors (SMR) and Advanced Modular Reactors (AMR). 

Areas of Concern

• Trade Imbalance: Bilateral trade remains below potential, especially compared to India’s trade with other EU nations.
• Technology Transfer & Defence Restrictions: While France has supported India’s defence goals, there are concerns over the depth of technology transfer in big items.
• Nuclear Liability Concerns: Despite a civil nuclear agreement in 2008 and plans for reactors at Jaitapur, progress has been slow.
• Geopolitical Differences: France’s strong economic ties with China sometimes dilute full alignment with India on Indo-Pacific issues.
  • Differences in approach to Middle East geopolitics occasionally diverge.

Future Outlook

• Horizon 2047 Roadmap envisions: In 2023, to mark the 25th anniversary of the India-France Strategic Partnership, both countries adopted the Horizon 2047 Roadmap to guide and strengthen bilateral relations up to 2047.
  • Joint development and production of advanced defence technologies.
  • Export of jointly developed products to third countries for global good.
  • Deeper maritime and space security cooperation.
  • Growing convergence in the Indo-Pacific through strategic dialogue and joint military presence.

Conclusion

• India–France defence cooperation is a cornerstone of their wider Strategic Partnership. 
• With shared interests in sovereignty, multilateralism, and regional stability, both countries are set to elevate ties further under the Horizon 2047 vision, making defence ties more collaborative, innovative, and export-oriented.

Source: PIB