INDIA–FRANCE RELATION

NEWs: French President Emmanuel Macron is currently on a three-day official visit to India, marking his fourth visit to the country.

Key HIGHLIGHTS

• The bilateral relationshipàelevated to a Special Global Strategic Partnership to strengthen Indo-Pacific cooperation
• A Joint Venture (JV) between BEL and SafranàLocalise HAMMER missile manufacturing in India.
• Annual Foreign Ministers Dialogueà To monitor the implementation of the Horizon 2047 goals.
• Signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) to establish a National Centre of Excellence for Skilling in Aeronautics.
• Signed a protocolà Amend the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) to ease cross-border investments.
• The Indo-French Centre for Digital Sciences àco-develop trusted public infrastructure and emerging technologies.
• France operationalised a five-year Schengen visa for Indian Master’s alumni to streamline professional and academic travel.

Bilateral Relation

• India established its first strategic partnership with France in 1998à elevated to a Special Global Strategic Partnership in 2026.
• Signed the Horizon 2047 roadmap in 2023à 25 years of strategic partnership across three pillars – Security, Planet, and People.
• Regular Varuna (Naval), Shakti (Army), and Garuda (Air Force) exercises à strengthen tactical interoperability.
• ISRO and CNES are co-developing the TRISHNA thermal imaging satellite: Climate monitoring, building on the success of the joint Megha-Tropiques and SARAL missions
• The Indo-French Jaitapur project in Maharashtra: To achieve a total capacity of 9.9 GW, making it the world’s largest nuclear power park.