Marseille, New Delhi : Making a major foray in the area of civil nuclear energy cooperation, India and France today agreed to collaborate in co-designing, co-developing, and co-producing Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and Advanced Modular Reactors (AMRs), following talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Emmanuel Macron of France in Marseille.
Of the 10 outcomes arrived at during the bilateral talks, three are on civil nuclear energy cooperation. The two sides will also be cooperating in the field of capacity building of researchers and professionals in the field of civil nuclear energy.
India and France also inked an agreement on Triangular Development Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region.
According to Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, the triangular cooperation aims at providing solutions to countries in the Indo-Pacific region for their economic progress and development in furtherance of the India-France roadmap on the Indo-Pacific.
These projects would be in the fields of digital innovation, digital public infrastructure, clean energy, green technologies, preservation of biodiversity, women empowerment, education, health, nutrition, water, and sanitation.
These projects will be demand-driven and not supply-driven and would be owned by the countries in which they are situated, Misri informed.
PM Modi also inaugurated jointly with President Macron the new Indian Consulate General in Marseille. Both leaders have also given directions for early implementation of the agreement between the National Museum of India and France Muséums Développement, under which France has been identified as a knowledge partner in building India’s new national museum, The Yuge Yugeen Bharat Museum, Misri informed.
The two sides have also operationalized the young professional scheme, which will help in promoting legal mobility of professionals, of skilled workforce, and students in both directions, he added.
PM Modi and President Macron held discussions on board the Presidential aircraft as they were being flown to Marseille from Paris. “You could say that India-France relations touched new heights, literally,” the FS remarked.
The discussions on-board the aircraft on a number of issues continued upon landing in Marseille, where the two leaders were joined by their larger delegations. And the discussions took place over the course of a dinner that was hosted by President Macron in honor of the Prime Minister, he added.
The discussions covered the entire gamut of our deep and diverse strategic partnership. The two leaders reviewed progress in the areas of defense, in the area of space, civil nuclear cooperation, and in the areas of health, as well as people-to-people cooperation between the two sides.
The two leaders appreciated recent progress that has taken place in all of these areas, in keeping with both the Horizon 2047 roadmap and in the defense area, in particular in keeping with the defense industrial roadmap that was adopted last year.
In the field of defence, the joint statement said: “Recalling the deep and longstanding defence cooperation between France and India as part of the Strategic Partnership, President Macron and Prime Minister Modi welcomed the continuation of the cooperation of air and maritime assets in line with the ambitious Defence Industrial Roadmap agreed in 2024. “Both leaders commended progress in collaboration in construction of Scorpene submarines in India, including indigenization, and in particular the work carried out with a view to the integration of DRDO developed Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) into P75-Scorpene submarines and the analyses conducted regarding the possible integration of the Integrated Combat System (ICS) into the future P75-AS submarines. “Both leaders welcomed the commissioning of the sixth and final submarine of the P75 Scorpene-class project, INS Vaghsheer, on 15 January 2025. Both sides welcomed the ongoing discussions in missiles, helicopter engines and jet engines. They also welcomed the excellent cooperation between the relevant entities in the Safran group and their Indian counterparts. “Prime Minister Modi also invited the French Army to take a closer look at the Pinaka MBRL, emphasizing that an acquisition of this system by France would be another milestone in Indo-French defence ties. In addition, President Macron welcomed the decision to include India as an observer to the Eurodrone MALE programme managed by OCCAR, which is another step forward in the growing strength of our partnership in defence equipment programmes. “Both leaders appreciated the regular conduct of military exercises in all domains including maritime exercises and joint patrolling by maritime patrol aircraft. They noted the recent visit of the French Carrier Strike Group Charles De Gaulle to India in January 2025, followed by the Indian Navy’s participation in the French multinational exercise La Perouse, and the future conduct of the Varuna exercise in March 2025. “They welcomed the launch of FRIND-X (France-India Defence Startup Excellence) in Paris on 5-6 December 2024, involving the DGA and the Defence Innovation Agency, in line with the vision enshrined in HORIZON 2047 and the India-France Defence Industrial Roadmap. This collaborative platform brings together key stakeholders across both defence ecosystems, including defence startups, investors, incubators, accelerators, and academia, fostering a new era of defence innovation and partnership.”
Both leaders had a detailed conversation on international issues, including on the Middle-East and the war in Ukraine. They agreed to pursue their efforts to coordinate and remain closely engaged on a regular basis. They agreed to work together more closely on implementing the India-Middle East-Europe Corridor (IMEC) initiative, to foster connectivity, sustainable growth trajectories and access to clean energy across these regions. In this regard, they acknowledged the strategic location of Marseille in the Mediterranean Sea. They underlined the key importance of strengthening EU-India relations, in view of the upcoming India-EU summit at the earliest possible in New Delhi. They appreciated the growing cooperation in trilateral format with Australia and with the United Arab Emirates. They commended the joint military exercises that took place between France, India and the United Arab Emirates, as well as the participation of India, France and Australia in each others’ multilateral military exercises. “They directed their concerned officials to work together with officials from the Governments of United Arab Emirates and Australia, towards identifying concrete projects of trilateral cooperation in the field of economy, innovation, health, renewable energy, education, culture, and the maritime domain, including under the IPOI and IORA as identified during the focal points meeting held virtually last year for both the trilateral dialogues.” The two leaders reaffirmed their unequivocal condemnation of militancy in all its forms and manifestations, including cross-border militancy. They called for the disruption of militancy financing networks and safe havens.
