In light of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s upcoming visit to France, French Ambassador in Delhi Emmanuel Lenain, in an interview to News18, stressed that it is “not common” for a country’s foreign guest to attend the national day celebrations with troops and airplanes, but PM’s visit will give “significant push” to the relations between both the nations.
PM Modi is scheduled to visit France as chief guest for the Bastille Day Parade on July 14, marking a significant milestone of 75 years of diplomatic relations between the two nations.
Discussing the successful acquisition of Rafale fighter jets by the Indian Air Force, Ambassador Lenain expressed satisfaction over their deployment and performance. “All 36 Rafale aircraft have been delivered on time, even during the challenging circumstances of the Covid-19 pandemic,” he confirmed.
Regarding the future collaborations in defence as well as civilian nuclear energy, the ambassador mentioned the possibility of additional deals of Rafale jets and the transfer of high-tech technologies, including jet engine technology.
Ambassador Lenain stressed that France and India share a relationship based on trust, with a long history of cooperation. “We are very comfortable sharing the best of all technologies with India. And we have been doing so for decades — first combat aircraft that was purchased by India from Dassault was in the 1950s. Now, we are entering a phase of real co-development of the next generation of equipment because given the outstanding research skills of the engineers in India, we feel that we have learned to love with each other and to team to make the best of equipment to provide full security to our countries.”
The Ambassador further said France is ready to support India’s transition to renewable energy. Lenain reaffirmed France’s willingness to share nuclear technology with India, citing the success of their own energy mix, where over 80% of electricity is generated from nuclear power. Calling it a reason of prosperity, Lenain said, “We are very well off because we have the cheapest energy in Europe. So, we would like to share this technology with India. It’s a big investment. So, it’s something that needs some time to fix for discussion. But again, we are pretty hopeful.”
Right now, if the global capacity of renewable in India is taken into account, for solar energy 10% is provided by French companies. “Pretty confident in the future, you will see even more push and development by French companies,” added the French Ambassador.
On the issue of Indo-Pacific region, which is increasingly becoming an important economic and strategic domain for the leading powers of the world, Ambassador Lenain expressed France’s alignment with India’s Indo-Pacific policy. “We feel that it’s the comprehensive strategy to tackle the challenges and that the best way to do it is not to add new tensions by being very confrontational, but to be very consistent”. He highlighted the shared values of Indian and France on freedom of navigation, the rule of law, United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and the adherence to international norms.
Commenting on India’s role as the Chair of the G20 and its efforts to promote the inclusion of the African Union in the grouping, Ambassador Lenain supported India for Global South and the inclusion of African Union in the G20.
Supporting India’s membership for the UN Security Council Lenain said, “I think the global governance should give a clearer picture of the world we’re living in today. That’s why, at the UN Security Council, we been supporting very strongly the inclusion of India as a member of the UN Security Council”.
Ambassador Lenain also acknowledged Indian diaspora’s positive contributions to the French society mentioning the increasing number of Indian students in French universities and their optimistic and hardworking nature. “We are making a lot of efforts to get more students to our university. Right now, we are at almost 10,000 students a year. We want to have maybe 20,000 five years from now. They’re a great addition.”
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