External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar paid a 6-day visit to Germany and France from February 18 to 23, 2022.
Visit to France:
- He met with French Defence Minister Florence Parly and discussed current developments and emerging security challenges.
- He also had talks with his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian and exchanged views on the situation in Afghanistan, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and the evolving situation in Ukraine.
-Roadmap to enhance bilateral exchanges on Blue Economy and Ocean Governance
i.India and France have committed to promoting cooperation between the European Union (EU) and India on the blue economy and ocean governance, in the framework of the common roadmap ‘EU-India Strategic Partnership: A Roadmap to 2025’ and the EU strategy for cooperation in the Indo-Pacific.
ii.India-France partnership on the blue economy and ocean governance will include marine trade in services, ports, the naval industry, fisheries, marine technology and scientific research, ocean observation, inland waterways, cooperation between competent administrations on civil maritime issues, etc.
iii.Dialogue on Blue economy and ocean governance:
- India and France plan to organise an annual bilateral dialogue on the blue economy and ocean governance.
- The dialogue will play a driving role in the formulation, organisation and follow-up of cooperation projects in the four pillars of the partnership: (i.) institutional, (ii.) economic, (iii) infrastructures, (iv.) scientific and academic.
- The NITI (National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog in India, and the Ambassador for Poles and Maritime Affairs in the MoFA in France will be organising the dialogue.
iv.The “Campus mondial de la mer” in France has proposed to make India the Guest of Honour of the Sea Tech Week in Brest from 26 to 30 September 2022.
v.EAM S Jaishankar also gave an address at the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI).
vi.India and France will remain fully committed to the Knowledge Summit, organised periodically by France and India to foster bilateral scientific cooperation. The scientific department of the Embassy of France in India and the Ministry of Earth Sciences of India will be points of contact to lay the groundwork for a workshop dedicated to marine science during the Knowledge Summit.
Click here to read in detail about the Roadmap.
-EU Ministerial Forum on Indo-Pacific
The EU Ministerial Forum on Indo-Pacific was organised by France in its capacity as chair of the council of the European Union.
- The ministerial forum was co-chaired by French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and Josep Borrell, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/ Vice-President of the European Commission.
i.S Jaishankar has attend the EU Ministerial Forum on Indo-Pacific in Paris, France and while addressing the forum, he called for the EU’s engagement in the Indo-Pacific for a stable multipolar region and the world.
ii.The forum reaffirmed its commitment to freedom of navigation in accordance with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
iii.The strategy focused on the EU stepping up the implementation of its connectivity partnerships with India and Japan, supporting partners in establishing a regulatory environment and facilitating the mobilisation of the necessary funding to improve connectivity between Europe and the Indo-Pacific.
iv.Ministerial forum reaffirmed the importance of ensuring a high level of protection of personal data as reflected in the declaration between the EU and nine Indo-Pacific countries.
- The nine countries are India, Australia, Comores, Japan, Mauritius, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea; Singapore and Sri Lanka.
Visit to Germany
-Munich Security Conference (MSC) 2022
i.S Jaishankar met with Ireland Foreign Minister Simon Coveney during the 58th Munich Security Conference (MSC) 2022, which was held in Munich, Germany from 18 February – 20 February 2022.
ii.He also had a meeting with Foreign and Security Policy Advisor to German Chancellor Jens Ploetner and German Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development Svenja Schulze.
iii.“Turning the Tide. Unlearning Helplessness” is the conference motto and the title of its newly published report.
Additional Info: India has received 3 more Rafale fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) from France. Along with the 3 aircrafts India has received a total 35 of the 36 Rafales for which it had signed contract with France in September 2016.
About MSC:
Munich Security Conference is the world’s leading forum for debating international security policy. This conference was initiated in 1963.
Recent Related News:
External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar made a 5-day official visit to Israel from 17-21 October 2021 to strengthen the strategic partnership between the two countries. This was S Jaishankar’s 1st visit to Israel as EAM.
About Ministry of External Affairs (MEA):
Union Minister – Subrahmanyam Jaishankar (Rajya Sabha Gujarat)
Minister of State – VMuraleedharan (Rajya sabha – Maharashtra); Meenakashi Lekhi (New Delhi, NCT of Delhi); Dr. Rajkumar Ranjan Singh (Inner Manipur, Manipur)
