New Delhi, Jan 9 Indian External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar on Sunday spoke to his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian and discussed what France and India can achieve together in 2022 and how to make France's EU presidency an accelerator for EU-India ties.
"Delighted to speak to French Foreign Minister @JY_LeDrian today. We recognized that our achievements of 2021 are a strong foundation for 2022. The presidency of EU that France occupies adds an important dimension to our strategic relationship," he said in a tweet.
According to an official statement, he congratulated France for taking over the presidency of the European Union after 13 years and celebrates the French commitment towards a more digital, ecological, and social Europe.
The year started with 16th staff talks conducted between the Indian and the French Navies in the first week of January.
France was the first foreign partner of India to post a liaison officer at Information Fusion Centre-Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR), set up for collaborating and cooperating with partners towards enhancing maritime safety and security in the area.
Vice Admiral Christophe Lucas, Head of Foreign Relations, French Navy, visited the IFC-IOR and was briefed on the efforts of the Centre towards enhancing maritime safety and security in the Indian Ocean Region as the two nations are sharing more and more real-time, sensitive information on maritime awareness in the area.
With the establishment of the strategic partnership in 1998, there has been significant progress in all areas of bilateral cooperation through regular high-level exchanges at the Head of State/Head of Government levels and growing cooperation and exchanges including in strategic areas such as defence, counter-terrorism, nuclear energy, and space.
France was the first country with which India entered into an agreement on civil nuclear cooperation following the waiver given by the Nuclear Suppliers' Group, enabling India to resume full civil nuclear cooperation with the international community. There is also growing and wide-ranging cooperation in other areas such as trade and investment, culture, science & technology, and education.
France has consistently supported India's increasing role in international fora, including India's permanent membership of the UNSC.
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