Modi's focus in France: Support for self-reliance in Defence, Space

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Paris visit focused on French support for Aatmanirbhar Bharat across sectors, including defence and space, besides joint efforts in the Indo-Pacific region. According to a French diplomat, the visit saw an 'exceptional mark of trust and friendship'.

Modi had been one of the first foreign leaders to meet Emmanuel Macron after he was elected the first time. This time, he is the first foreign leader to meet Macron in Paris after his re-election.

The message is that the two leaders have high ambitions for future of the Indo-French strategic partnership. It also signaled that India was top priority for French foreign policy, the diplomat said.


The discussions focused on how France could continue to be India's partner of choice for attaining self-sufficiency in defence, technology, space and energy and how to accelerate joint efforts in the Indo-Pacific region while not losing focus on the challenges in the region which have not diminished, according to the people in the know.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine also featured in talks. The two sides agreed on cessation of hostilities and mitigating the global economic turmoil, including food security for vulnerable countries. The two leaders discussed Afghanistan too. The visit is significant as during the French EU presidency, Paris spared no effort to bring India and the Indo-Pacific higher on the EU agenda.