India and France initiate dialogue on critical technology and enhancing space cooperation

India and France have initiated new dialogues to further deepen their cooperation in the space sector and discuss critical technologies. According to information provided by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), India's Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and the Secretary General of France's Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Martin Briand, co-chaired these important meetings in Paris on Tuesday, November 10.

During this visit to Paris, the third 'India-France Strategic Space Dialogue' was organised between the two countries. Along with this, the first meeting of the 'India-France Economic Security and Critical Technologies Dialogue' was also held. The main objective of these meetings is to expand the strategic and industrial partnership between the two nations by focusing on emerging technology and the resilience of supply chains.

Official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, Randhir Jaiswal, shared details of these high-level engagements on the social media platform X. He stated that the primary aim of the space dialogue was to further strengthen institutional and industrial ties between the two countries. During the discussion, progress on the extensive bilateral space cooperation ongoing between the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and France's National Centre for Space Studies (CNES) was reviewed.

Additionally, both sides discussed ways to advance strategic space cooperation. Specifically, opportunities to facilitate professional collaboration between the space industrial ecosystems of the two countries were deliberated. Along with this, both nations exchanged views on multilateral space matters.

On the other hand, the Indian Embassy in France confirmed that the first session of the 'India-France Economic Security and Critical Technologies Dialogue' took place. This is a new institutional mechanism aimed at strengthening the resilience of supply chains and accelerating joint development in emerging sectors. It is expected that this dialogue will increase cooperation in the fields of economic security and critical technology.

Beyond these two distinct bilateral forums, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and Martin Briand also held broad diplomatic consultations. During these consultations, all aspects of bilateral relations between India and France were reviewed. Both officials also discussed regional and global issues of mutual interest.

According to information shared by the Indian Embassy on X, all these meetings aim to deepen cooperation in space, critical technology, and economic security, specifically including the matter of making supply chains more robust. According to a Businessline report, these discussions were focused on expanding strategic and industrial partnerships.