Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be on a tour of France from 13 to 18 June. This will be his seventh official visit to France after assuming power in 2014. The question arises that what is it that makes France so important in India's foreign policy? Actually, the relationship between India and France is not limited to just normal diplomatic relations between the two countries. This is a story of trust, strategic partnership and supporting each other on global platforms. This is the reason why Paris and New Delhi have been continuously coming closer even amidst the changing global politics.
During this visit, Prime Minister Modi will meet and hold bilateral talks with French President Emmanuel Macron on June 14, which is happening after the formation of a Special Global Strategic Partnership between the two countries. PM Modi will inaugurate the India Innovates program organized in Nice city of France, where more than 120 startups, investors and technology companies from India and France will participate.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the G7 organized in Avis, France. Although India was invited to all the G7 conferences and India used to participate only in the session organized for G7 Plus on the last day of the conference, but this time the matter is quite different. Despite not being a member of G7, France has included India in all the tracks of G7, which is unique in itself.
Apart from this, he will address Europe's largest technology conference VivaTech in Paris.
When the world distanced itself from India, France stood by it. The biggest strength of the relations between India and France is trust. In 1998, India conducted nuclear tests in Pokhran. After this, many western countries including America imposed sanctions on India. But France was among the few countries that did not support the policy of isolating India.
France continued dialogue with India and tried to understand India's strategic concerns. This was the period when the foundation of strategic partnership between the two countries became stronger. This year, India and France started a strategic partnership. Interestingly, this was India's first strategic partnership with a Western country and France's first such partnership with a non-Western country.
France is one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and has long supported India's permanent membership. From Kashmir to terrorism, France understood India's concerns and openly supported it on many international issues. France also openly supported India's membership in important export control groups such as MTCR, Wassenaar Arrangement and Australia Group.
The most talked about identity of India-France relations is Rafale fighter aircraft. The purchase of 36 Rafale aircraft for the Indian Air Force and the recent Rafale-M deal for the Indian Navy has given a new height to the defense relations between the two countries. However, India wants that India can fit its weapons in the Rafale jet, which is being discussed in the new deal.
A French diplomatic source told TV9 that the new deal regarding Rafale will be better than the old deal. The story is not limited to Rafale only. Cooperation has extended to joint production of Scorpene submarines, missile technology, helicopter engines and now defense equipment. India and France also adopted the Defense Industrial Roadmap to 2024, under which both the countries are working on co-development and co-production in the defense sector.
Cooperation between India and France is not limited to defense only. ISRO and the French space agency CNES have a six-decade old collaboration. Both the countries have worked together in programs like Megha-Tropiques, SARAL and Gaganyaan. France is also an important partner of India in the field of nuclear energy. Cooperation between the two countries on Small Modular Reactor (SMR) and advanced nuclear technology is increasing rapidly.
Today France is India's third largest trading partner in the European Union. In the last decade, trade between the two countries has doubled to about 16 billion dollars. Digital cooperation can be gauged from the fact that France became the first country in Europe to adopt UPI. It started from the Eiffel Tower.
The special thing about this visit of PM Modi is that its focus is not only on defense or strategic cooperation. New priority is being given to areas like Artificial Intelligence (AI), startups, blue economy, clean energy, education, student exchange and digital innovation. Both countries have also declared 2026 as the India-France Year of Innovation.
