India France Relations

France was India’s first strategic partner. It began to supply aircrafts (Dassault Ouragon fighters/ Toofani) to India as early as in 1953. It was also the first country to restart talks with India post 1998 nuclear test by India. 

The relations between the two countries have spanned across nuclear, space and defence sectors. CNES and ISRO have a history of close collaborations in the past, which bore fruits in the form of projects like Megha Trophique and SARAL to name a few. In case of defence, France is a better partner than USA as  the latter may back out from providing India spare parts in case of Indo-Pak tensions. Besides, agreement on defence cooperation has been expanded till 2026 recently. Also, France is expected to build nuclear plant in Jaitapur.

Presently, the areas of cooperation between the two countries have expanded. Counter terrorism is one of the area.  Another is intelligence sharing. The cyber security related issues have also surfaced in recent times on which the two countries can collaborate. The two countries are also jointly studying the impact of climate change on Agriculture in India. International Solar Alliance is also a mutual initiative.

In 2016, the chief guest at the Republic Day parade was the French President, which takes the number of such instances to 5.

Despite all the positives, bilateral trade remains a concern which presently stands at around USD 8 Billion. Also, weak P2P relations are a cause of worry. In addition to that, there are also concerns over Rafale deal.

The trade relations are expected to improve with the signing of India-EU FTA, the negotiations of which are stuck at present and may be further delayed due to Brexit.

  

Other potential areas include recently envisaged the joint ventures and partnerships, infrastructure such as railways, smart cities and renewable energy projects. France is also a permanent member of UNSC and can thus support India in its quest for a UNSC permanent seat.