French Foreign Affairs Ministry Secy-General discusses India-France ties with NSA Ajit Doval

NEW DELHI: Secretary General of the French Foreign Affairs Ministry, Anne-Marie Descotes, met National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on Tuesday and discussed the deepening of India-France ties. This meeting comes a few weeks after French President Emmanuel Macron's state visit to India.

"Secretary General of the French Foreign Affairs Ministry @amdescotesmet NSA Ajit Doval today to discuss the deepening of the France-India strategic partnership a few weeks after President Macron's State Visit," the French Embassy in India posted on X.

Secretary General of the French Foreign Affairs Ministry @amdescotes met NSA Ajit Doval today to discuss the deepening of the strategic partnership a few weeks after President Macron's State Visit. pic.twitter.com/urHEFxmaD6

— French Embassy in India (@FranceinIndia) March 5, 2024

Earlier in the day, she participated in the Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) between India and France, which was co-chaired by Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra. During the FOC, the two sides undertook a comprehensive review of the progress made in various facets of bilateral cooperation, as outlined in the ambitious India France Horizon 2047 Roadmap, adopted during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's historic visit to France as Guest of Honour at the French National Day on July 14, 2023, the Ministry of External Affairs stated.

Earlier on Monday, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar also held a meeting with Anne-Marie Descotes and stated that the strategic partnership between the two nations is growing from "strength to strength."

Jaishankar expressed confidence that the Foreign Office Consultations and Strategic Space Dialogue between the two nations will further enhance the momentum of India-France ties. The second India-France Strategic Space Dialogue was held in New Delhi on Monday.

During the meeting, both sides reviewed the progress made since the first India-France Strategic Space Dialogue and discussed the ongoing robust bilateral engagement in the space sector and avenues for further cooperation in the G2G (Government-to-Government) and commercial segments.

Additionally, both sides also discussed the implementation of the recently signed Letter of Intent on Defence Space Cooperation, capacity building and training, space exchanges and defence space industrial cooperation.

During the bilateral dialogue on disarmament and non-proliferation, the two sides discussed developments relating to the nuclear, chemical, and biological domains, as well as outer space security, conventional weapons including AI in the military domain and Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems, and multilateral export control regimes.