India’s National Security Adviser Ajit Doval met French Defense Secretary Sebastien Lecornu and discussed a range of issues of mutual concern, including global, regional and bilateral security-related topics. During the meeting, according to representatives familiar with the issue, special emphasis was placed on research, development and production in accordance with the requirements of future wars.
The duo emphasized the need for an action-oriented and time-bound approach in line with the visions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron. The two sides were also able to jointly strategize and identify priority areas for joint development in line with the Modi government’s Make-in-India policy. “Special attention would be paid to cooperation in the security aspects of the global commons, including space, cyber and maritime transport, to ensure peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific,” the people cited above said.
On Monday, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and his French counterpart attended the 4th annual India-France Defense Dialogue in New Delhi. The two representatives discussed a wide range of bilateral, regional, defense and defense industrial cooperation issues. Singh and Lecorno reviewed ongoing military cooperation, which has increased substantially in recent years, according to a Defense Department statement. They also discussed means to strengthen naval cooperation and increase the scale and complexity of bilateral exercises. Both sides noted that India and France successfully conducted their bilateral air exercise ‘Garuda VII’ at the Jodhpur Air Base.
“The Ministers acknowledged their convergence on a range of strategic and defense issues and shared a commitment to work together to enhance cooperation in bilateral, regional and multilateral fora with a focus on the Indo-Pacific region. France is the current chair of the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC) and the Indian Ocean Maritime Symposium (IONS) and the two countries work closely together in these forums,” the statement said.
