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How France Has Surpassed The US As India’s Most Dependable Ally To Counter China?

Five recent happenings prove once again that it is still France, not the US, which is India’s foremost ally in the West.

Seen in isolation, each of these happenings may not appear that important, but when viewed collectively, the unmistakable pattern that emerges is that France was, is, and will remain India’s all-weather ally.

On March 31 evening, the fourth batch of three Rafale jets from France (refueled midair by friendly United Arab Emirates Air Force) arrived in India to join the Golden Arrows Squadron at Ambala Air Force station.

With their arrival, the number of Rafale aircraft in India stands at 14. The rest 22, as per the government-to-government deal by the two countries, will be delivered well in time.

On March 20, the chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) K. Sivan informed that India and France have been working on their third joint satellite mission, after undertaking ‘Megha Tropiques’ which was launched in the year 2011 and ‘Saral-Altika’ launched in 2013.

This will be an earth observation satellite mission with the thermal infrared imager TRISHNA- Thermal InfraRed Imaging Satellite for High-Resolution Natural Resource Assessment. There are also discussions on establishing ‘NavIC’ (an independent regional navigation satellite system that is developed and maintained by ISRO) reference station in France.

On March 27, Capgemini (a French multinational corporation that provides consulting, technology, professional, and outsourcing services) announced to open two 5G innovation labs, one in Mumbai and another in Paris.

These labs will be dedicated to accelerating the development and deployment of 5G and edge technologies, driving their data-driven transformation towards the intelligent industry.




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French President Emmanuel Macron with Indian PM Narendra Modi. (File photo)

On March 29, an Indo-French trade body (Indo-French Chamber of Commerce and Industry or IFCCI), told ThePrint that France was looking at bilateral business growth in the areas of energy and technology. “Traditionally, it is true that a big chunk of Indo-French economic ties has been defense and aerospace. Now, we see a number of industries doing so well and coming into the limelight, even if we take the last two years,” Payal S. Kanwar, director-general of IFCCI said.

France is a significant source of FDI in India with more than 1,000 French establishments already present in the country. It is the ninth-largest foreign investor in India with a cumulative investment of $9.67 billion from April 2000 to September 2020.

These investments included “Schneider Electric’s $2 billion acquisition of L&T’s electrical business, Total’s announcement of $2.5 billion in Adani Green Energy Limited, and French airport operator Groupe ADP carrying out a 49 percent buyout of GMR’s airport business.”

The fifth major development is something that will take place during the three-day period of April 5 and 7, when for the first time Indian Navy will be part of the France-led war game ‘La Perouse’ in the Bay of Bengal.

Other participants will include India’s Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD) partner countries — Australia, Japan, and the United States.

Until now, India was not invited for the French participated naval exercises, though bilaterally India and France do participate in the annual naval exercise called ‘Varuna’, which, incidentally will take place in the last week of this month in the Western Indian Ocean. Significantly, the ‘Varuna’ will also create history as it will involve this time the navy of the United Arab Emirates.

It may be noted here that France is the first major European power that has been at the forefront in accepting the notion of “Indo-Pacific” and supporting the QUAD framework.

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Author and veteran journalist Prakash Nanda has been commenting on Indian politics, foreign policy on strategic affairs for nearly three decades. A former National Fellow of the Indian Council for Historical Research and recipient of the Seoul Peace Prize Scholarship, he is also a Distinguished Fellow at the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies. He has been a Visiting Professor at Yonsei University (Seoul) and FMSH (Paris). He has also been the Chairman of the Governing Body of leading colleges of the Delhi University. Educated at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, he has undergone professional courses at Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy (Boston) and Seoul National University (Seoul). Apart from writing many monographs and chapters for various books, he has authored books: Prime Minister Modi: Challenges Ahead; Rediscovering Asia: Evolution of India’s Look-East Policy; Rising India: Friends and Foes; Nuclearization of Divided Nations: Pakistan, Koreas and India; Vajpayee’s Foreign Policy: Daring the Irreversible. He has written over 3000 articles and columns in India’s national media and several international dailies and magazines. CONTACT: prakash.nanda@hotmail.com
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