Mumbai, 16 September 2022 (TDI): The Foreign Minister of France, Catherine Colonna, during her recent visit to India, reinforced the commitment to continue its partnership with India for maintaining stability in the Indo-Pacific region.
The Indian Navy is now equipped with 6 Scorpene submarines, developed by @navalgroup and manufactured in #Mumbai.
An iconic success for French technology, reinforcing our commitment to a key partner for maintaining stability in the Indo-Pacific region.@MinColonna pic.twitter.com/seyWsr8evx— France Diplomacy🇫🇷🇪🇺 (@francediplo_EN) September 15, 2022
Moreover, the Navy of India on Thursday equipped 6 Scorpene submarines in Mumbai that were developed by the French Naval Group. On the occasion, the French Foreign Minister said that this is an iconic success for French technology.
Also Read: Foreign Minister of France to visit India
Indo- Pacific Trilateral Agreement
On Wednesday, the French Foreign Minister met with the Foreign Minister of India S. Jaishankar.
Both decided to expand their strategic partnership and reached an agreement to create an Indo-Pacific trilateral agreement with Australia and UAE to implement development projects.
India and France will also hold a trilateral ministerial meeting with Australia and UAE to find sustainable solutions to the problems in Indo-Pacific.
Moreover, the two Foreign Ministers also agreed to collaborate closely to address urgent global issues like the food crisis brought on by the conflict in Ukraine.
Indian Foreign Minister Jaishankar highlighted that France is an Indo-Pacific player and a country with a long history of involvement in the Indian Ocean. He added that both sides can cooperate to maintain peace, stability, security, and advancement in the area.
Apart from this, India will be the first country of honor at the Sea Tech Week in Brest, France, from September 25 to 27. The National Institute of Ocean Technology in India will receive an expert from France in the upcoming weeks.
Catherine Colonna said that France wants stability, prosperity, rule of law, and environmental protection in the Indo-Pacific.
She added that the EU is also a committed actor in the Indo-Pacific region and France will further urge the EU to conduct more projects in the Indo-Pacific.
Furthermore, the French Foreign Minister had wide-ranging talks with the Indian Foreign Minister on the joint efforts for a free, open, and rules-based Indo-Pacific.
Both sides also discussed the conflict in Ukraine, the COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences, the Iran Nuclear deal, and developments in Afghanistan.
