India, France aim to double bilateral trade in 5 years

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi held bilateral talks with French President Emmanuel Macron at Villa Kerylos in Nice on June 14.

• This was the first meeting of the two leaders since the elevation of India-France ties to the level of ‘Special Global Strategic Partnership’ earlier this year.

• Both sides set a five-year target to double their annual bilateral trade from the current $16 billion and unveiled an innovation roadmap.

Highlights of the meeting:

• Recognising the key role of innovation and technology in the bilateral relationship, both sides adopted ‘Innovation Roadmap 2030’ to give the partnership a long-term direction.

• It is a framework to guide their collaborative efforts towards advancing co-development in critical and emerging technologies, strengthening trusted technology ecosystems, deepening academic and research mobility, and delivering concrete outcomes for people, the planet and shared prosperity.

• Both leaders discussed expanding cooperation on artificial intelligence and agreed to create a Joint India-France AI Working Group for the purpose. 

• They noted the steady growth in bilateral trade and agreed to set up a High-level Mechanism to double it within five years. They called for early implementation of the India-EU Free Trade Agreement, which offers a unique opportunity to expand bilateral trade and investment. 

List of outcomes:

• MoU on the establishment of a National Centre of Excellence for Skilling in Aeronautics and Allied Sectors at NSTI, Kanpur.

• Expanded possibilities for using India’s real-time payment system – Unified Payments Interface (UPI) – in France.

• Establishment of a Centre of Digital Sciences between Department of Science and Technology (DST) and Institut National de Recherche en Sciences et Technologies du Numérique (INRIA).

• Establishment of an ICCR India Chair on ‘AI, Innovation and Culture’ at Universite Paris-Saclay.

• Letter of Intent between Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and Health Data Hub of France.

• Institution of an Economic Security Dialogue.

• Declaration of intent on cooperation on railway and high-speed railway development in India.

• General security agreement on the exchange and protection of classified information.

• Letter of Intent between ISRO and CNES concerning cooperation in the field of microgravity research and human space exploration.

PM Modi, Macron inaugurate Bharat Innovates 2026

• PM Modi and French President Macron jointly inaugurated Bharat Innovates 2026 at the Palais des Expositions, Nice. 

• Bharat Innovates, a three-day event, brings together Indian deep-tech startups, innovators, researchers and investors with global innovation funds and footprint. 

• It showcases India’s premier deep technology at the global stage, presenting 120 pathbreaking startups and over 20 Institutes of Excellence, across 13 critical technology pillars of global importance. 

• Over 350 top investors and venture capitalists from across the world are also participating in the event.

• Being held during the India-France Year of Innovation, this signature event reinforces the vibrant innovation partnership that exists between the two countries.