France - India Relations

India and France have a regular exchange of visits at the highest level. Prime Minister of India, Mr Narendra Modi, visited France in August 2019 at the invitation of the President of the French Republic, Mr Emmanuel Macron, for a Bilateral Summit in Paris and to participate in the G7 Summit in Biarritz under the French presidency of the G7. The French President’s visit to India in 2018 included signing of many agreements between the countries to deepen the partnership.

France and India work closely together on tackling climate change and furthering space exploration. On 15th April 2021, space agencies of both countries signed an agreement for cooperation for India’s first human space mission Gaganyaan. The agreement was announced during French Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian’s visit to the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) headquarters. In 2019, both countries welcomed the decision for France to train medical support personnel for Indian astronauts, who will be part of the mission. Together, both countries have also launched a Space Climate Observatory that further enhances Indo-French cooperation on combating climate change.

India France held Strategic Dialogue 2021 - The Indian delegation was headed by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval while Emmanuel Bonne, diplomatic advisor to President Emmanuel Macron, led the French side. The two sides held discussions on a variety of issues including counter-terrorism, cybersecurity, defence cooperation, maritime security, regional and global issues and cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region.

Mr. François Delattre, Secretary-General, Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France, held bilateral talks with Foreign Secretary, Shri Harsh Vardhan Shringla, during the former’s official visit to India from 20-22nd December 2021. The visit comes on the heels of the Annual Defence Dialogue held on 17th December 2021 in New Delhi between Shri Rajnath Singh, Raksha Mantri and Ms. Florence Parly, French Minister for Armed Forces. The officials discussed the India-France potential for cooperation in sectors such as defence and security, space, cybersecurity and the digital economy, blue economy, education, energy, health and climate change.

COVID-19 Cooperation: India supplied France with nearly 2 mn hydroxychloroquine tablets and 36 MT of paracetamol (API) after having lifted export restrictions on these lifesaving drugs. France expressed its gratitude by sending 120 ventilators, 50 thousand serological tests, and 50 thousand nose/throat swabs as aid. France also announced a 200 million euro loan to India to help the vulnerable sections most severely affected by the pandemic. Over 2500 Indians had been repatriated from France and a similar number of French citizens were repatriated from India to their home countries through special flights.

National Security Advisor (NSA) Mr. Ajit Doval met with Mr. Emmanuel Bonne, Diplomatic Advisor to French President H.E. Emmanuel Macron, for the annual strategic dialogue between India and France on 6th November 2021. The topics discussed included:

• Strengthening the bilateral defence and security partnership through enhanced intelligence sharing, operational cooperation, bolstering mutual capabilities, expanding bilateral exercises, and pursuing new initiatives in maritime, space and cyber domains
• Committing to closer cooperation in the Indo-Pacific through more intelligence sharing and expansion of bilateral exercises in the maritime sphere
• France’s commitment to support Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s vision of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’, including defence industrialisation and joint research and technology development

Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi, held a bilateral meeting with the President of France, H.E. Mr. Emmanuel Macron, on the sidelines of the 16th G20 Summit in October 2021. Some of the topics discussed were:

• Strengthening cooperation between India and France in various fields
• The need to focus on climate finance in view of the COP26 Summit
• EU’s Indo-Pacific Strategy, released in September 2021, which India welcomed and thanked France for its leadership role in facilitating the same
• The important role of the India-France partnership in promoting stability and security in the Indo-Pacific, with a reaffirmation to cooperate in new and innovative ways to achieve a free, open and rules-based order in the region

French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, H.E. Mr. Jean-Yves Le Drian, made an official visit to India in April 2021, where the following events took place:

• Bilateral consultations were held with Mr. S Jaishankar, Minister of External Affairs, covering all aspects of the India-France Strategic Partnership, joint initiatives in the Indo-Pacific region, regional and international issues of mutual interest, and cooperation in the United Nations Security Council
• He joined Mr. Prakash Javadekar, Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, in a panel discussion on boosting global action against climate change
• Mr. Le Drian highlighted India-France cooperation on health and biological sciences at the Bangalore Life Sciences Cluster; he visited ISRO’s Human Space Flight Centre and signed an agreement for cooperation in India’s first human space mission (Gaganyaan)
• The two countries discussed launching a Space Security Dialogue to further space cooperation, which would be the first such dialogue to be established by France with an Asian country
• Mr. Le Drian met with the French Tech Bangalore-India community to discuss cooperation in the field of technological innovation and startups

In June 2021, France announced its intention to make a direct contribution of EUR 1 Mn to the International Solar Alliance (ISA), further strengthening and upgrading its partnership with India

The Indo-French Year of the Environment 2021-22 was launched in January 2021 by the French Minister for Ecological Transition, Ms Barbara Pompili, and India’s Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Mr. Prakash Javadekar. It serves as a platform for the two countries to engage in discussions on critical areas of collaboration relating to environment and allied areas.

France is the 11^th largest investor in India, with cumulative FDI inflows of $10,065.52 mn during April 2000 - December 2021. The sectors attracting the most FDI from France are cement and gypsum products, drugs and pharmaceuticals, industrial machinery, and automobiles.

Bilateral trade between the two countries has been growing steadily and reached $9.12 bn in April 2020 - March 2021. The figure stands at $8.23 bn for April 2021 – December 2021.

India is proud to host 25 French R&D centres in the country. With around 15 joint Indo-French research laboratories and almost 500 collaborative projects, France is India’s 5th largest scientific partner. On 2nd December 2021, the Indian Institute of Science (IISc.) announced that it has signed an MoU to establish a 4-year partnership with 21 French institutions under the aegis of the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Government of France.

There are more than 1,000 French companies in India, that have a total turnover of $20 bn and employ 300,000 people. This is a testament to the strength of the Indo - French association.

France is partnering with India to develop Chandigarh, Puducherry and Nagpur as smart cities. It has already committed over $2.2 bn for India’s ‘Smart Cities’ project.

In 2019, France and India agreed to significantly enhance people-to-people contacts and cultural exchanges. The countries have agreed on regular dialogue on consular matters, which will facilitate exchange and mobility.

India and France organise reciprocal festivals that aim to promote the countries’ cultures. India organised the Namaste France Festival in 2016, which brought to French audiences various manifestations of Indian culture and art. The French side presented the French cultural festival, Bonjour India from November 2017 to February 2018 in India.

In 2019, 10,000 Indian students chose to pursue higher studies in France. In 2020 and 2021, France welcomed Indian students and provided special assistance to help them through the COVID-19 situation. Government of India offers French nationals 5 scholarships to study Sanskrit in India.

France hosts more than 700,000 Indian tourists every year, making it the most popular European destination for Indians. Over 74,243 tourists from France visited India in 2020.