In Paris on Sunday, Indian External Affairs Minister, S. Jaishankar held bilateral talks with French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian.
Both sides agreed to deepen their Strategic Partnership, particularly in the sectors of “trade and investments, defence and security, health, education, research and innovation, energy and climate change.” Le Drian also recalled the two sides’ goal of hosting 20,000 Indian students in France between now and 2025 and proposed the creation of an Indo-Pacific campus in India that will prioritise “training, research, and innovation in the health field.”
As part of this shared goal, they adopted the “India-France Roadmap on the Blue Economy and Ocean Governance.” According to a press release by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, the document guides the two allies on enhancing their partnership “in the field of blue economy by way of institutional, economic, infrastructural, and scientific cooperation.”
Jaishankar and Le Drian also reaffirmed their shared vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) that is governed by a common set of rules. In this regard, they jointly launched the “Indo-Pacific Parks Partnership” during the EU Forum on Tuesday. The initiative aims “to build capacities in the Indo-Pacific region, in terms of sustainable management of protected areas, by gathering and sharing the experiences and expertise that exist in the Region among key Indo-Pacific public & private natural park managers.”
Arrived in Paris.
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) February 20, 2022
Held wide-ranging and productive talks with FM @JY_LeDrian.
Discussions on bilateral cooperation, Ukraine situation,Indo-Pacific and JCPOA reflected our deep trust & global partnership.
Look forward to participating in EU Ministerial Forum on Indo- Pacific. pic.twitter.com/qo5PX3fAsA
Their discussion came a day ahead of the Ministerial Forum for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, which was organised by the Council of the European Union and co-chaired by Le Drian and Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. France is the current president of the group.
During his address at the forum, Jaishankar made a veiled reference to China, saying that it is important to collectively deal with regional challenges because they could extend to Europe, as “distance is no insulation”.
The two diplomats also discussed other international events, urging Russia to engage in dialogue regarding respect for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and calling on Iran to ensure the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
Jaishankar reached France on Sunday after concluding his visit to Germany, where he attended the Munich Security Conference. The major focus of the Munich event was to coordinate Western strategy on the Ukraine crisis. Notably, Russian representatives were absent from the conference.
This year marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between France and India.