2023-07-13 18:30:26
An official visit and future contracts. India has given its agreement to begin a two-day visit to France. “I am delighted to be able to strengthen cooperation between India and France during this visit”, tweeted the Prime Minister after being welcomed on a red carpet when he got off the plane at midday by the Prime Minister , Elisabeth Borne. He is due to speak to the Indian community in France on Thursday evening, and will attend the July 14 military parade on Friday, which will be attended by a strong Indian contingent, including three Rafales.
This agreement comes as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi began a two-day visit to France. “I am delighted to be able to strengthen cooperation between India and France during this visit”, tweeted the Prime Minister after being welcomed on a red carpet when he got off the plane at midday by the Prime Minister , Elisabeth Borne. He is due to speak to the Indian community in France this Thursday evening, and will attend the July 14 military parade on Friday, in which a strong Indian contingent will participate, including three Rafales.
This huge potential contract would further consolidate the robust strategic partnership that has linked the two countries for 25 years. France is the first Western country with which India – which has already ordered 36 Rafale aircraft for its Air Force – has entered into such a partnership, recalled Narendra Modi in an interview in the newspaper Les Echos.
“Same desire for strategic autonomy”
The two countries also have a certain convergence of views on international relations. Paris wants to be a power of balance, multiplying the channels of dialogue and wishing to be a bridge between the Western bloc and the rest of the world. “We have the same desire for strategic autonomy. Our two countries are deeply committed to international law and we want the world to be multipolar,” the Indian Prime Minister told the French economic newspaper, saying that India saw France as “one of (its) main global partners”.
New Delhi, the Asian giant on the front line in the face of China’s rise to power, is for its part a follower of multi-alignment, continuing for example to cooperate with Russia, which has been ostracized by the West since the invasion of Iran. Ukraine. As the Elysée pointed out this week, “India is one of the pillars of our Indo-Pacific strategy”, this vast area covering the Indian and Pacific oceans, the scene of growing international tensions between Beijing and Washington and where France has overseas interests and territories.
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