Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron reviewed the entire gamut of strategic and defence ties between India and France and the situation in Ukraine. The two leaders called for “an immediate cessation of hostilities” there.
In their meeting late on Wednesday, Modi and Macron also took stock of the situation in the strategically important Indo-Pacific region and the after-effects of the corona pandemic and food crisis arising due to ongoing conflict in Ukraine. After visiting Germany and Denmark, the Prime Minister stopped over in Paris to meet Macron who was last week re-elected as the President of France.
In a joint statement released after the talks between Modi and Macron, France reiterated its “strong condemnation of the unlawful and
unprovoked aggression against Ukraine by Russian Forces”.
India and France expressed serious concern about the ongoing conflict and humanitarian crisis in Ukraine. They unequivocally condemned civilian deaths in Ukraine and called for an immediate cessation of hostilities to bring parties together to promote dialogue and diplomacy to find an immediate end to the suffering of the people.
Briefing media in Paris after the talks, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said, “On Ukraine, there was a broad understanding of each other’s position. The two leaders agreed that close coordination and engagement were important,” he said.
The Foreign Secretary said the developments in Ukraine did come up for discussion between the two leaders and they exchanged their perspectives on the situation there. Modi gave an elaborate understanding of the Indian position which calls for the immediate cessation of hostilities and the resolution to the ongoing situation through diplomacy and dialogue.
The two leaders also spoke extensively, and exchanged views extensively on the cascading effect of the situation in Ukraine, in terms of global food shortages, shortages of commodities, such as fertilizer, and how the two countries can partner together in order to address some of these challenges which are very real and felt on the ground, he said.
“And, as I mentioned earlier on, there is a very clear understanding of each other’s position and they did agree to stay in touch and coordinate very closely. So that as the situation evolves, they can both individually or together play a constructive role in this situation, in order so that all these challenges, which I talked about can be resolved,” Kwatra said.
Touching upon other issues covered in the talks, Kwatra said
India and France are strong strategic partners and the two leaders are also good friends.
“Macron renewed mandate and the conversations between Prime Minister Modi and the President today allow us to build on existing strengths and success of India-France strategic partnership and also jot out a blueprint for its next phase,” he said.
The Foreign Secretary said the two leaders held wide-ranging discussions on all the key areas of bilateral engagement, including in defence, space, civil nuclear cooperation and people-to-people linkages. They also discussed regional and global issues including developments in Europe and in the Indo-Pacific. India and France see each other as key partners in the Indo-Pacific.
Both sides welcomed the ongoing intense cooperation across all defence domains. Joint exercises (Shakti, Varuna, Pegase, Desert Knight, Garuda) illustrate efforts towards better integration and interoperability wherever possible. Meanwhile, maritime cooperation between India and France has reached new levels of trust and will continue through exercises, exchanges and joint endeavours throughout the Indian Ocean.
India and France underscored that the long-standing armament cooperation is testimony to the mutual trust between the two sides. The six Scorpene submarines built at Mazagon Docks Limited(MDL) in Mumbai illustrate the level of transfer of technology from France to India, in line with the “Make in India” initiative.
As seen in the timely delivery of the Rafale fighter jets despite the pandemic, the two sides enjoy synergy in the field of defence. Taking forward this momentum, and based on their mutual trust, both sides agreed to find creative ways for France’s deeper involvement in the “Atmanirbhar Bharat” (self-reliant India) efforts in advanced defence technology, manufacturing and exports, including through encouraging increased industry to industry partnerships, the statement said.