President François Hollande visited India as the chief guest of the 67th Republic Day celebrations, the fifth time that a French leader has been so honoured. The three-day state visit of President Hollande along with a delegation that included, Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, Energy Minister Segolene Royale and top French industrialists, has been seen as a sign of deepening bilateral ties between the two countries. France reaffirmed its support for India's candidature for a permanent membership of the UN Security Council during the visit. A number of agreements were reached, including an intergovernmental agreement for the purchase of Rafale fighter jets, nuclear reactors, French railway locomotives and a major commitment to counterterror cooperation. Prime Minister Modi and President Hollande also laid the foundation stone of the Headquarters building of the International Solar Alliance, which was launched at the COP 21 summit in Paris. On the occasion, President Hollande also announced 300 million Euros of funding to support solar projects launched by member countries. A note summarising the visit has been prepared by Edelman Public Affairs team. Hope you find it useful.

1. Consolidating
India-France ties
A recap of French President Francois Hollande’s
state visit to India
January 29, 2016
Overview
India’s ties with France
India’s ties with France have been one of its most
important bilateral relationships. During the
January 24th
-26th
visit of the French President,
Mr Francois Hollande, Foreign Secretary S
Jaishankar, while briefing the media, said
“France is the original strategic partner of India.
It was the first country to be so designated. We
have very close relations with them in defence,
nuclear energy, space - all of these are areas of
long-standing cooperation with them”. The
Foreign Secretary’s statement underscores the
fact that France is an important partner of India
in critical areas such as national security and
technology and will play a big role in the
government’s flagship programmes including
Smart Cities, Digital India, Ganga Rejuvenation
and Make in India.
France has also been supportive of India's role in
the region and its strategic autonomy. Through
the strategic dialogue institutionalised since
1998, the two countries have close ties on
counter-terrorism. While calling on the world to
unite against the common threats of terrorism
from “Paris to Pathankot”, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi and President Hollande agreed
on intelligence sharing and cooperation on
investigations and judicial processes.
On other fronts too, the relationship has held
strong. In the wake of its nuclear tests in 1998,
India was blackballed by the nuclear haves. In
later years, France was the first to resume
nuclear talks with India, and among the first to
push for nuclear trade with it. The recent Rafale
multi-role fighter aircraft deal exemplifies
France’s role as a key defence supplier to India.
France has been supplying warplanes (‘Toofani’,
or Dassault Ouragan fighters and Mystère) to
India since 1953. Over the years, the French
space agency CNES has increased its reliance on
Indian Space Research Organisation for
launching a number of satellites.
As a leading western power with shared political
values, France has been a supporter and a
credible partner for India in constructing a more
equitable world order through a new concert of
major powers.
Expectations from the Visit
In the backdrop of the continuing relationship,
the visit of President Hollande came with high
expectations. It was expected that the Rafale
deal would go through. Another area of
cooperation was high-speed trains - the French
TGV or Train a Grande Vitesse, that is, high-
speed train, which runs at 320 km per hour is
used across Europe.
France has been one of the most efficient in
building cities owing to which Prime Minister’s
mission of building 100 smart cities was seen as
another area of cooperation. There was a

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Consolidating India-France Ties By Edelman India - Public Affairs
likelihood of Indo-French cooperation in
developing Chandigarh, Puducherry and Nagpur
as smart cities. An MoU has been signed in this
regard.
The International Solar Alliance, launched during
the COP 21 in Paris, was mooted by Prime
Minister Modi and supported by French
President Hollande. Further collaboration on
solar energy was expected as an outcome of the
meet.
Highlights of the Visit
Since taking charge in May 2014, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi has been putting efforts towards
recognising the potential of military partnerships
in modernising India’s defence-industrial base
and enhancing India’s strategic weight in the
international system. The participation of a
French military contingent in the Republic Day
Parade — the first ever by representative of a
foreign military is symbolic of the emergence of
France as India’s most trusted international
partner. The march is also a symbol of the revival
of India’s defence diplomacy and global security
engagement that have been at the centre of the
Modi government’s foreign policy.
Continuing the tradition of great interest taken
by earlier French Presidents, President Francois
Hollande has expressed his eagerness to
consolidate the strategic partnership with India
and implement the many key agreements that
remain in limbo.
Some of the key achievements of the visit are
listed below
1. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)
and Centre National D'études Spatiales
(CNES) implementation agreement for
hosting Argos-4 payload on board India's
Oceansat-3 satellite
2. ISRO and CNES implementation agreement
for a future joint Thermal Infrared Earth
Observation Mission
3. Letter of intent on CNES, French
participation in ISRO's next Mars Mission
4. Shareholding agreement in the joint venture
between Alstom and Indian Railways for the
production of 800 electric locomotives in
Madhepura, Bihar
5. Agreement between Indian Railways and
Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer
Français (SNCF), French Railways for the joint
feasibility study for the renovation of
Ludhiana and Ambala railway stations

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6. MoU between Food Safety and Standards
Authority of India (FSSAI) and Agence
nationale de sécurité sanitaire de
l'alimentation (ANSES) in food safety
7. Partnership Agreement between Ministry of
Personnel & Public Grievances and France
for cooperation in Public Administration
8. Declaration of intent for conducting next
round of Namaste France (Indian festival) in
2016 and Bonjour India (French festival)
2017
9. Cultural exchange programme for the period
2016-2018
10. Agreement for the establishment of an Indo-
French Ministerial-level Joint Committee on
Science and Technology
11. MoU for Industry Sponsored Ph.D fellowship
between IIT Mumbai and Thales Systemes
Aeroportes
12. A cooperation agreement between IISER,
Pune and ENS de Lyon (France) for joint
research, teaching, exchange of personnel,
etc.
13. Agreement of cooperation between CNRS,
TB, UBO, UBS, ENSTA Bretagne, ENIB (French
Universities) and IIT Mumbai in the field of
higher education and research
14. MoU for the purchase of 36 Rafale Fighter
jets
15. Foundation of the office of International
Solar Alliance was laid down
16. Joint co-operation between India and France
to prevent off-shore tax evasion and steps to
strengthen the exchange of information
between both countries
17. Agreement between Mahindra Aerospace
and Airbus Group for the manufacture of
helicopters
18. Three MoUs under the 'Smart City' scheme
between French Development Agency and
the state governments of the cities of
Chandigarh, Nagpur and Puducherry
19. A joint venture between Indian SITAC Group
and EDF Energie Nouvelles signed to acquire
50% stake in the renewable energy business
in Gujarat. The JV will invest 155 million
Euros in 2016 and generate 142 MW power.
Its objective will also be to produce one
gigawatts of wind energy over 5 years.
Opportunities in the Indo-French ties
One area in which the potential of Indo-French
ties have yet to be reaped is bilateral trade.
Despite 10 per cent growth in most years and
more than a thousand French companies
operating in India, India-France trade hovers
around $8 billion, which amounts to half of
India’s trade with the U.K. or Germany. A big
reason for this is the impasse in India’s economic
relations with the European Union. The India-EU
free-trade agreement (FTA) has been hanging
fire for more than a year now. Prime Minister
Modi’s expected visit to Brussels for the EU
summit in the next few weeks is being closely
watched for this reason. What is encouraging is

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the commitment to greater Indo-French trade
ties at the highest level in France. Said President
Hollande at the CEOs forum: “We must go faster,
much faster and even then it’s too slow.”
There are also opportunities in higher education.
Around 2,500 students from India go to France
every year to pursue higher education, while
China sends ten times the number. Experts have
also highlighted the need for greater people-to-
people contact to lend substance to the official
ties between the two countries.
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