The annual dialogue in Paris was chaired by NSA Ajit Doval and Emmanuel Bonne, diplomatic adviser to French President Emmanuel Macron. Doval additionally held discussions with French overseas minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, who emphasised strengthening the strategic partnership in areas of defence, safety, civil nuclear power and house.
On Friday, India and France looked to ramp up defence and security ties in another round of strategic dialogue with the latter reiterating its commitment to technology development in India across a wide range of advanced defence capabilities and New Delhi acknowledging Paris as a “premiere global and Indo-Pacific” partner. The convergence between the countries was evident with India welcoming EU’s Indo-Pacific strategy and looking forward to France’s presidency in early 2022.
The India statement read, “The two sides will pursue these objectives through enhanced bilateral cooperation, deepening engagement in regional institutions and jointly working with and assisting other countries in the Indo-Pacific region.”
