India & France To Collaborate To Export Defence Gear To ‘Friendly Nations’

New Delhi, Jan 27 (KNN) India and France have solidified their commitment to enhance defence and security ties by embarking on a joint venture to manufacture and export defence items to ‘friendly nations’.

The decision, announced in a joint statement following bilateral meetings between French President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, coincides with joint efforts between New Delhi and Paris to enhance the “securitisation of strategic sea lanes of communication.”

In the aftermath of a one-on-one meeting and delegation-level talks between the two leaders, the joint statement disclosed that both nations have chosen India as a base for the production and export of defence equipment to friendly countries in the region.

This development is part of the Roadmap for India-France Defence Industrial Partnership, formalised during President Macron's visit to India.

Macron's two-day visit included stops in Jaipur and New Delhi, where he served as the Chief Guest for the 75th Republic Day celebrations.

Adding another dimension to their collaboration, India and France signed a 'Letter of Intent' on Friday, solidifying the Defence Space Partnership between the Ministry of Defence, Government of India, and the Ministry for the Armed Forces, French Republic.

Foreign Secretary, Vinay Kwatra, speaking at a news conference on Friday, emphasised the adoption of a defence production roadmap.

The roadmap aims to identify partnership opportunities in the defence industrial sector, prioritising co-designing, co-development, co-production, and the establishment of defence supply chains between the two countries, Kwatra added.

Kwatra highlighted that this collaboration intends not only to meet the defence needs of India and France but also to contribute significantly to the security partnerships with other nations in need of similar products.

He further stated, “This collaboration intends not only to fulfil the defence needs of India and France but also can be a useful contributor to the security partnership with other countries who might be in use of similar products.”

Kwatra further outlined the diverse domains covered by the industrial roadmap, including air and space technologies, maritime technology (including underwater domain awareness), land warfare equipment, robotics, artificial intelligence, autonomous vehicles, and cyber defence.

The comprehensive focus of the conversation aligns with the agreements laid out in the 2047 Horizon Vision document, emphasising a concentrated effort on defence production and manufacturing to leverage the compatibilities and competencies of both economies and engineering systems, thereby strengthening their defence cooperation.

(KNN Bureau)