Technology drives India-France strategic convergence

It’s a measure of the significance that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron connect to the India-France relationship that they’re assembly once more in France, on the sidelines of the G-7 Summit in Evian (June 15-17), barely months after Mr. Macron’s go to to India for the India AI Affect Summit 2026 in New Delhi in February. Throughout that go to, the 2 leaders collectively inaugurated the India-France Yr of Innovation 2026.

In regular diplomacy, such bulletins usually take time to translate into motion. It’s due to this fact notable that Mr. Modi and Mr. Macron are already transferring swiftly to advance bilateral know-how cooperation. They collectively inaugurated the “Bharat Innovates” occasion in Good (June 14-16), bringing collectively main Indian start-ups and enterprise capital funds. Mr. Modi will then attend the VivaTech Summit in Paris on June 18, Europe’s largest know-how and start-up occasion, underscoring the rising India-France know-how partnership.

The brand new pillars of partnership

The India-French relationship is consistently evolving and is consequently being up to date by the 2 leaders who’re dedicated to the trigger.

Whereas the just lately elevated Particular International Strategic Partnership has at all times included conventional areas akin to defence, nuclear and house, it’s the give attention to tech and innovation that’s now thrilling for the connection.

This focus will embrace our on-line world, Synthetic Intelligence (AI), well being care, sustainable growth, inventive financial system, training and analysis. These are new aspects of the evolving and dynamic relationship and can little doubt take ties to better heights. Tech and innovation has large mutual benefits for each side. France has among the finest state-of-the-art know-how in aerospace, AI, robotics, biotech, well being care, inexperienced tech and sustainable growth, moreover being a European hub for the digital financial system.

It isn’t laborious to see how India can’t solely profit from entry to know-how in these areas but in addition deliver its personal added worth by way of frugal innovation, start-ups, digital public infrastructure and biotech, simply to call a couple of. The probabilities are limitless. It should be hoped that the 2 tech summits — “Bharat Innovates” and the “Vivatech” — will allow the non-public sector on each side to provide you with substantive collaborative preparations.

Defence, house and Africa

The 2 leaders are additionally anticipated to take inventory of the particular strategic partnership. There are a selection of dossiers which might profit from their political and strategic steering. The primary is definitely the concept of the co-designing and co-production of defence platforms which should be expedited. Progress can also be fascinating in rising areas akin to small modular reactors, joint satellite tv for pc growth and human flight programmes.

The potential for Franco-Indian cooperation in Africa has not been absolutely exploited and this should get the eye of each side. This turns into much more vital in mild of the postponement of the India-Africa Discussion board Summit (Could 2026) as a result of Ebola disaster in Africa. The 2 leaders will likely alternate views on the continuing conflicts: in Ukraine and in Iran, which have adversely and disproportionately affected nations of the International South.

Mr. Modi’s Europe go to (June 13-18, 2026) additionally features a state go to to Slovakia, the first-ever go to by an Indian Prime Minister to Slovakia since its independence in 1993.

Watching the ‘D10 debate’

France, as the present chair of the G-7, will host the G-7 summit in Evian from June 15 to 17, 2026. It’s troublesome to think about a G-7 summit with out India being invited, and Mr. Modi’s participation is especially vital given the geopolitical turbulence of the current second. United States President Donald Trump can also be anticipated to attend it. Whereas consideration will naturally give attention to the opportunity of a Modi-Trump assembly, any interplay is probably not a substantive one, given the G-7 atmospherics.

Extra vital is the evolving function of the G-7 itself in international geopolitics. With the G-20 having misplaced a few of its momentum in recent times, discussions have resurfaced about increasing the G-7 right into a D10 — a grouping of 10 main democracies. Whether or not, and the way quickly, such a change materialises stays unsure, however it’s a growth India might want to watch intently.

On the finish of the day, two center powers — India and France — which set nice retailer by strategic autonomy, have a basic function to play in contributing to geopolitical stability and guaranteeing a clean transition to a multipolar world. In that sense, Mr. Modi and Mr. Macron shoulder a major accountability.

Mohan Kumar is a former Indian Ambassador to France and now Dean/Professor at O.P. Jindal International College. The views expressed are private