India-France Bilateral Relations: Macron to be Chief Guest this Republic Day

What’s in Today’s Article?

• Why in News?
• Brief on India-France Bilateral Relations
• Key Pillars of India-France Cooperation
• Convergence Between India and France on a Range of Regional and Global Issues
• Significance of India Inviting French President for the 75th Republic Day Celebrations

Why in News?

• According to the Ministry of External Affairs of India, French President Emmanuel Macron will visit India as Chief Guest for the 75th Republic Day celebrations, days after it became clear that US President Joe Biden will be unavailable.
• This will be the sixth time a French leader will be the Chief Guest at the R-Day celebrations.

Brief on India-France Bilateral Relations

• Since the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1948, India and France have enjoyed 75 years of close and friendly relations.
• In 1998, India and France elevated their diplomatic relationship to Strategic Partnership which completed 25 years in January, 2023.
• This Strategic Partnership, first for France outside the EU, has been instrumental in the comprehensive growth of India-France relationship.

Key Pillars of India-France Cooperation

• Defence Cooperation: The Agreement on Defence Cooperation signed in 2006 and renewed for another 10 years in 2016 gives the framework for all defence cooperation activities between India and France.
• Trilateral exchanges: Apart from bilateral dialogues, India and France also have separate trilateral institutional exchanges with Australia and UAE respectively
• Space Cooperation: ISRO and the French Space Agency, CNES have been carrying on various joint research programmes and collaborating in satellite launches.
  • For example, on 22 June 2022, GSAT-24 communication satellite of New Space India Ltd (NSIL) was successfully launched on-board Ariane-5 from Kourou, French Guiana.
• Civil Nuclear Cooperation: An agreement on civil nuclear cooperation was signed between India and France in 2008.
  • Further, India is a member of ITER, a multi-national consortium formed to construct an experimental fusion reactor, located in Cadarache, France.
• Economic Cooperation: They have important bilateral investments and trade and commercial cooperation, particularly in sectors involving IT corridors, smart-cities, railways, capital and trade exchanges, skill development, etc.
  • Bilateral trade reached an impressive $13.4 Bn in 2022-23, marking a significant 7.72% increase from the previous year.
  • France has emerged as the 11th largest investor in India, with FDI inflow of $10.5 Bn from April 2000 to March 2023.
• Digital Cooperation: India-France Roadmap on Cybersecurity and Digital Technologies was one of the outcomes of the visit of the PM of India to France in 2019.
• Culture and Tourism Cooperation: There are many Indo-French cultural associations which organise various events across France.
  • For example, the Government of India organised ‘Namaste France’ cultural festival in several cities of France in 2016.
• Marine and Maritime Cooperation: Indo-French Maritime Cooperation is based on the India-France Roadmap on Blue Economy and Ocean Governance adopted in 2022.
• Community in France: The Indian community, including NRIs in mainland France number around 109,000, largely originating from French enclaves of Puducherry, Karaikal, Yanam, Mahe and Chandernagore.

Convergence Between India and France on a Range of Regional and Global Issues

• France has continued to support India’s claim for a permanent membership of the UN Security Council and the reforms of the UN.
• France’s support was vital in India’s accession to the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), Wassenaar Arrangement (WA) and Australia Group (AG).
• France continues to support India’s bid for accession to the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). India played a key role in France’s membership of Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) and France supported India’s joining of Indian Ocean Commission (IOC) as an observer country.
• India and France have consistently condemned terrorism and have resolved to work together for adoption of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT) in the UN.
• Both have seen a widespread convergence in the issues of climate change; renewables and sustainable growth.
  • For example, at the 2015 Paris COP21, India and France announced the creation of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) to promote this key resource to help the world move away from fossil fuels.

Significance of India Inviting French President for the 75th Republic Day Celebrations

• In New Delhi, the choice of guest has been guided by a set of imperatives: strategic and diplomatic, blending business, global geo-politics and bilateral engagement.
• This year, both are celebrating the 25th anniversary of the India-France Strategic Partnership.
• The Indian PM was the Guest of Honour at the Bastille Day Parade held on 14 July 2023 in Paris. President Macron visited India for the G-20 Summit on 8-9 September 2023.
• In 2022, the Indian PM had made a stopover in Paris, on his way back from Denmark, to meet President Macron, thus becoming the first world leader to meet the French President after he won his second term.
• Thus, India’s invitation to France signals and reinforces the depth of the bilateral relationship.

Q1) What is the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER)?

In southern France, 35 nations are collaborating to build the world's largest tokamak, a magnetic fusion device aimed at creating energy through a fusion process similar to that of the Sun.

Q2) What is the International Solar Alliance (ISA)?

ISA is an alliance of more than 120 signatory countries, most being sunshine countries, which lie either completely or partly between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. Its primary objective is to work for the efficient consumption of solar energy to reduce dependence on fossil fuels.

Source: Delhi-Paris Pact: Macron to be Chief Guest this Republic Day