INDO-FRENCH Relations

France established diplomatic relations with the newly-independent India in 1947. Both nations negotiated the peaceful transfer of Pondicherry and the other enclaves to India, which was completed by 1954. France has helped India in its nuclear growth by, for instance, offering to help India develop its breeder program in 1969, supplying nuclear fuel to the Tarapur I and II reactors (after the US reneged on its contractual obligation to supply uranium fuel for the Tarapur reactors), setting up a thorium extraction facility at Alwaye in Kerala, and a Heavy Water plant at Baroda in Gujarat. France, along with Israel and Russia, were the only countries in the world which did not condemn India’s 1998 nuclear tests.

At present Indo-French co-operation lies on three pillars – defence, academic exchanges and co-operation in science and technology. In spite of immense opportunities in each other's economy, bilateral trade in 2006-07 was quite nominal. It is evident that economic and trade engagement needs a significant boost.

1. Good Political Relationship (UNSC membership, Pokhran 1998)

2. Strong Defence ties (supplier of military hardware):

• Upgrading Mirage 2000 fighter aircraft

• 2007 missile co-development project to manufacture a new range of Short Range Surface to Air Missiles (SRSAM) Maitri

• Kaveri engine for LCA Tejas co-development

• 2005 defence deal to acquire technology to build Scorpene nuclear submarines

• Naval excersices Varuna and Air excersices Garuda

• Piracy in Gulf of Aden

• Joint Working Group on Counter-Terrorism

2. Space Cooperation:

• SARAL (Satellite for ALTIKA and ARGOS) for studying ocean from space using altimetry. CNES provides a radar altimeter instrument called ALTIKA and an onboard relay instrument for the international ARGOS data collection system, while, ISRO provides the satellite platform, launch and operations.

• Megha-Tropiques- planned mission to study the water cycle in the tropical atmosphere in the context of climate change

• 2005 deal between Antrix and Astrium for joint development and marketing of communication satellites.

• Arianespance launching facilities for INSAT

3. Mining Sector, IT sector coop

4. French investment in Infrastruc: roads and rail

5. French brands in Ind Consumer market

6. India’s soft power: fashion, cinema

7. Areva deal: 300 tonnes of enriched U, 6 EPR by 2020, development of nuclear parks; Civil Nuclear Coop Agreement, 2008 allows for reprocessing of spent fuel, lifetime supply of nuclear fuel, doesn’t bar the transfer of ENR technology (unconditional reprocessing rights both from Russ and France unlike the US deal which requires a special amendment)

8. Two Nuclear safety pacts between AERB and ASN- technical info exchange, cooperation in regulation of nuclear safety, radiation protection

9. Franco-Indian Centre for Advance Research, 1986

10. CEOs Forum

11. Social Security benefit agreement

12. MoU on IPR issues

13. France expressed support for including India in an expanded

G-8

Bilateral Trade:

France is India's 5th largest trading partner in the EU (after the UK, Belgium, Germany and Italy).Both states have aimed to increase bilateral trade from 57. billion euros to 12 billion euros by 2012.

Courtesy : ADMIN : LAV