New Delhi: India and France on Sunday agreed to nearly double their annual bilateral trade to $32 billion within the next five years and announced a wide-ranging set of initiatives covering technology, innovation, defence and education following talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron.
The two leaders unveiled 13 key outcomes of their discussions, including an India-France Innovation Roadmap 2030, the creation of a Joint Artificial Intelligence Working Group, expansion of India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) in France and a high-level mechanism to achieve the ambitious trade target.
The agreements were finalised during bilateral talks in Nice, where PM Modi is on the first leg of his week-long visit to France and Slovakia.
In a post on X after the meeting, PM Modi described the talks as productive and reaffirmed the strength of the strategic partnership between the two countries.
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said the discussions covered the entire spectrum of bilateral ties, including defence, civil nuclear energy, space, trade, investment, technology, innovation and people-to-people exchanges.
A major focus of the talks was cooperation in emerging technologies. The newly launched Innovation Roadmap 2030 aims to deepen collaboration in critical technologies, startups, incubators and academic partnerships. The Joint Artificial Intelligence Working Group will focus on AI governance, research and development, capacity building and industry partnerships.
To boost economic ties, both countries agreed to establish a dedicated high-level mechanism to achieve the trade target and launched a dialogue on economic security, focusing on resilient supply chains and critical minerals.
The leaders also announced the expansion of UPI services in France, with the digital payment system expected to become operational at Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport and Nice Airport soon.
Defence cooperation featured prominently, with discussions progressing on India’s proposed procurement of 114 Rafale fighter jets and greater localisation under the “Make in India” initiative through co-design, co-development and co-production.
The two sides also reviewed progress on the Jaitapur nuclear power project, explored opportunities in small modular reactors and discussed ways to enhance student mobility, educational partnerships and workforce development, including the establishment of a National Centre of Excellence for Skilling in Aeronautics and Allied Sectors in Kanpur.
