India France Relations

Why in News?

• On 14th July, the Prime Minister of India will be the Guest of Honour at France’s Bastille Day parade in Paris.
• The visit becomes more important as it coincides with the 25 years milestone of India-France strategic partnership.

 

Background of India-France Relations

• India and France have traditionally close and friendly relations. In 1998, the two countries entered into a Strategic Partnership.
• This Strategic Partnership is the oldest among India’s almost 30 strategic partnerships around the world and one of the few that has been marked by “total convergence”.
• Four French Presidents and three Indian PMs have nurtured this relationship over the last quarter century.
• Former PM Manmohan Singh was the chief guest at the 2009 parade, which opened with Indian tri-services personnel marching to Saare Jahan Se Achha and Kadam Kadam Badhaye Ja. Nicolas Sarkozy was President at the time.

 

Why India-France Partnership is Special?

• France Stood by India at Critical Points
  • India-France commenced their strategic partnership, India’s first, immediately after India’s nuclear tests, at a time when most Western capitals had turned their backs on New Delhi.
  • France was the first country to recognise the strategic importance of India after the nuclear tests in 1998.
  • The partnership with France is India’s most important strategic partnership in Europe.
  • During the civil nuclear negotiations with the US, French President Jacques Chirac, on his visit to India in 2006, sent a strong message to President George W Bush that India should not be boxed into a corner.
• Strategic Autonomy: A Common Quest
  • India and France as “mirror images of each other” in their common quest for strategic autonomy amid big power play.
  • Although India and France are on different continents, there is a remarkable resonance in the strategic outlook.
• Mutual Trust and Reliability
  • The defence relationship, a critical element in ties, is marked by trust and reliability.
  • While defence deals with the US are dogged by unpredictability due to Congressional interventions and export control regimes, the French deals come with no strings attached.
  • France understands that India would not like to put all its defence eggs in one basket.

 

India-France Relations in the Present Context

• Defence Cooperation
  • The Inter-governmental agreement for purchase of 36 Rafale jets by India in flyaway condition was signed in New Delhi in 2016. Project implementation is underway.
  • The contract for six Scorpene submarines from M/s DCNS was signed in October 2006. All six vessels are to be built under technology transfer at the Mazagaon Docks Ltd. Project implementation is underway. The first submarine INS Kalvari was commissioned in 2017.
  • The French offered their own Safran engine that would be fully made in India.
  • While the US offer, which signalled a major breakthrough in India-US defence ties, does not include the transfer of a critical part of the technology, the French have promised 100 per cent technology transfer.
• Cooperation on Climate Change
  • Last October, India and France signed a Road Map on Green Hydrogen, which aims “to bring the French and Indian hydrogen ecosystems together” to establish a reliable and sustainable value chain for a global supply of decarbonised hydrogen.
  • Earlier in February 2022, they signed a Road Map on the Blue Economy and Ocean Governance.
• Space Cooperation
  • India and France have a rich history of cooperation in the field of space going back to fifty years with ISRO and the French Space Agency, CNES carrying on various joint research programmes and launch of satellites.
  • A joint stamp was released to commemorate fifty years of bilateral space cooperation during the visit of PM Modi to France in 2015.
• Civil Nuclear Cooperation
  • A landmark agreement on civil nuclear cooperation was signed between India and France in 2008 during the visit of PM Dr Manmohan Singh to France.
  • Subsequently, during the visit of President Nicolas Sarkozy to India in 2010, the General Framework Agreement and the Early Works Agreement between NPCIL and M/s AREVA for the implementation of EPR for the Jaitapur NPP were signed.
• Cooperation in the fields of S&T and Education
  • In the field of S&T, the Indo-French Centre for the Promotion of Advance Research (CEFIPRA) based in New Delhi established in 1987 is playing a major role by funding joint proposals for research in sciences and research projects.
  • CEFIPRA also awards Raman-Charpak scholarships since 2013 to Indian and French scholars.

 

India, France and the World

• Both India and France value their strategic autonomy, pursue independence in their foreign policies, and seek a multipolar world, even as both acknowledge the place and importance of the US in the world order.
• With its more nuanced view of the war than most other countries in the continent, France has a better appreciation than other European states of New Delhi’s position on the Ukraine-war- the world has to make serious diplomatic efforts to restore peace.
• India understands that if at all there has to be a rapprochement between Europe and Russia, it will have to be led by France. It would be a litmus test of French ability to impact on an issue of global significance.
• For this reason, French support will also be critical to a consensus outcome at the G20 summit in New Delhi this September. India remains hopeful that differences over the war in Ukraine will not block a positive outcome.

 

The China Factor: Impact on India-France Relations

• As the only EU state with territories in the Indo-Pacific, France could be an important partner for building maritime domain awareness and keep an eye on China’s presence in the region, augmenting New Delhi’s participation in the Quad.
• France has a different relationship with China, and India should appreciate that.
• In its trade and commercial relationship with China, the French may not be able to even de-risk, let alone decouple.
• France can help India build up its maritime defence, which they are doing on a transactional basis.

 

Expectations from PM Modi’s Visit to France

• Defence Announcements: PM’s visit is likely to see agreements or announcements on the acquisition of 26 Rafale-M (the marine version) fighters for the Indian Navy, and co-production of three more Scorpene class submarines.
• Digital Economy Cooperation
  • There could be announcement on cooperation on 6G, artificial intelligence, and quantum computing.
  • An MoU signed last month between NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL) and Lyra, a France-based payment services provider to enable UPI and RuPay payments in Europe.

 

Conclusion

• France is India's oldest strategic partner, and the relationship has almost no friction points.
• Both nations value their strategic autonomy, independent foreign policies, and seek a multipolar world.
• The defence relationship between both nations is robust, and is set to get stronger.

 

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Q1) What is the significance of Bastille Day?

Bastille Day celebrates the storming of the Bastille prison in Paris on July 14, 1789, a moment of immense cultural and historical significance for the French Republic. It marks the start of the French Revolution, a pivotal moment in French history. Yet, its real symbolism and significance lie in the fact that the French Revolution ended l'ancien régime, the rule of the monarchs.

 

Q2) What is a strategic partnership?

The essence of the strategic partnership lies in cooperation between the states that share common objectives. Though security issues are central to strategic partnerships, the ambit of such partnerships can be quite broad, including trade, economy, technology, and so on.

 

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Source: The Indian Express