President François Hollande’s visit is the fifth such by a French leader to have been honoured as the Chief Guest at the Republic Day, highlighting the expanding areas of cooperation and convergence between the two countries

French President François Hollande wrapped up a three-day visit to India on January 26 by being the guest of honour at the Republic Day celebrations. He witnessed the elaborate display of Indian military hardware and India’s rich cultural diversity at the celebrations. He was joined by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

A day prior to that the two countries signed about 15 agreements including one on jointly combating terror. However, the much anticipated deal for purchase of 36 Dassault’s Rafale jets did not happen, but it is hoped that the final agreement would be signed soon, headway having being made.

India and France have had good relations and the latter is the only country which has been given exceptional status. More than any other country, France has had continuous ties with India and the presence of French leaders at the Republic Day celebrations have been significant. President Hollande’s visit is the fifth such by a French leader to have been honoured as the chief guest at the Republic Day, highlighting the expanding areas of cooperation and convergence between the two countries.

India has been engaging with many countries at different levels but with France it has always been a special one. The then President Jacques Chirac had a long-standing interest in India and undertook three visits to India, in 1976, 1998 and 2006, the only leader to have been chief guest at the Republic Day twice, first as Prime Minister in 1976 and then as President in 1998.

On his arrival in Chandigarh, President Hollande said: “Ladies and gentlemen, this is my second trip to India since the beginning of my presidential mandate. Today it has a special significance as I am invited for Republic Day, celebrating the Constitution of India. There is even a military parade bringing together the French and the Indian armies. This is the best symbol that can be given to the relations between France and India”.

Strategic Partnership on Security

The French president added: “Since many months, beyond the strategic partnership that we have forged since many years, there is the will of France and India to work in the same direction. I will name two: first, security, because we are concerned by regional crises, and also terrorism.

“Both our countries have been struck. Thus, we will together further intensify our exchanges, participate in inter-service cooperation and act to reinforce our military equipment. This is, in fact, part of this trip’s agenda.

“But there is a second subject that comes immediately after the success of the COP21 in Paris in December, at which Prime Minister Modi had played a very important role and enabled, through his initiatives and concepts that he had formulated, i.e. ‘climate justice’, to reach this result”.

Solar Alliance in India?

“We will therefore translate into action our common will to implement the Paris Agreement as swiftly as possible by launching the Solar Alliance here, that is a great epic, a great adventure, where our companies—which are present in great numbers here—will be welcomed in India to be in the forefront, and also to be, I hope, in the vanguard of all these equipment that we need to provide for solar energy, energy efficiency, energy storage”, said Hollande.

At the joint media briefing, the President said: “France and India are conscious of the threats that peace faces at this moment, especially terrorism, because both our two countries were victims of terror during the recent months. I thank Prime Minister Modi and the Indian people for the support that they gave us during this hardship, last January as well as in November last year. France will never forget these gestures of friendship coming from all over the world, especially from India, which was struck by terrorist attacks of which French citizens were victims.

Prime Minister Modi and President of France Hollande at the joint press statement at Hyderabad House in New Delhi

 

The French Army contingent marching through the Rajpath at the 67th Republic Day parade 2016 in New Delhi

“We know who has struck us. It is Daesh, which later claimed its crimes, which exhibits the perpetrators of its crimes, of its murders, which broadcasts images of atrocities. I affirm it here, we will never be terror-stricken and those abhorrent provocations amplify our resolution even more. They amplify the resolution I have taken to protect the French through the decisions I took and uphold. But also to strike, strike again at this organisation that threatens us and kills our children.

“It is the reason why we have decided, Prime Minister Modi and myself, to intensify our cooperation against terrorism, to reinforce the exchange of intelligence, to fight even more against the traffics that fuel terrorism. We have even decided a road map to fight against all trafficking, especially in the Indian Ocean, and to ensure maritime security. We have also established, in the field of cyber security, instruments that will strengthen our systems of defence”.

Rafale Deal

On the much awaited Refael deal, the French President said: “We have just signed an inter-governmental agreement through our Defence Ministers. It is a decisive step for India to purchase those aircraft and for France to deliver them to such a great country as India. I am delighted. Financial aspects remain and will be solved in the next few days; but the essential part has been done today. In April it was a declaration, today it is an agreement between our two governments and between our two countries. I am happy that trust is there; trust from India in French industry, defence, trust from France in India because we are in the ‘Make in India’, and I subscribe to this vision.

“I am also here, as the Prime Minister said, to implement the commitments we took during the Paris climate conference. As I said, cooperation between France and India was decisive, because India chose to set a high level of ambition to produce 40 per cent of its electricity by 2030 from renewable energies. So France must stand alongside India.

“Thus, we decided on an exceptional cooperation, first in favour of smart cities. Yesterday we were in Chandigarh, a historic city, a city where France and India have already cooperated. Then, through this example, but also in other cities, Nagpur and Puducherry (there are 100 in the Prime Minister’s programme), we will put our expertise, our capacities, the capacities of our companies, to service of this beautiful idea of smart cities.

“They have all understood that if they want to develop here in India, they need to transfer technologies, they need to work in the spirit of ‘Make in India’. There are 1,000 French companies present in India. There are investments that will not stop increasing, in all areas. I wouldn’t want you to talk only about defence, because there are so many other areas involved, even if it is true that Rafale is a symbol.

“We have also developed cooperation on space. It is an area in which India and France have worked for 50 years. Civil nuclear energy, too. Is there a better example of trust than the technology we share on civil nuclear energy?

“There too there has been considerable progress. We are in the prospect of building 6 EPR in Jaitapur. We have good hope to be able to conclude in one year.”

Thus the President of France and the Prime Minister of India agreed to intensify cooperation between the Indian and French security forces in the fields of homeland security, cyber security, Special Forces and intelligence-sharing to fight against criminal networks and tackle the common threat of terrorism. They looked forward to early conclusion of an Agreement on Prevention of Consumption of Illicit Drugs and Psychotropic Substances between the two countries and expressed hope that cooperation in this field will also lead to the disruption of terrorist financing structures.

The leaders noted with satisfaction that the bilateral Agreement on Defence Cooperation concluded in 2006 has advanced cooperation in defence cooperation, production, research and development and procurement of defence material. The two sides agreed that the Agreement on Defence Cooperation will be extended for another 10 years.