- As you are aware, the geostrategic and geopolitical alignments have undergone palpable alterations over the last few years courtesy of a couple of crucial factors. One, the pandemic brutally contributed to the economic meltdown, posing tremendous challenges to the global community in more than one way. Second, the Chinese intransigence and belligerence in furthering an extremely unpopular expansionist agenda despite the global leadership challenging the move helped several countries alter their priorities. Notably, the USA-China faceoff over the Russian invasion of Ukraine has only helped to expand the chasm, much to the detriment of all concerned. And we know how the Galwan Valley incidents have played out in India.
PC: America Times News Service
- Credit must accrue to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for pursuing dynamic diplomacy ever since he assumed office in 2014. Undoubtedly, he has singlehandedly succeeded in considerably altering the global community’s perception of India by positioning the country as a force to reckon with. On the heels of the highly successful state visit to the USA comes the visit by the PM to France, which is equally, if not more, important than the former. France, which has hosted PM, Modi, is perhaps India’s most reliable strategic partner and certainly the oldest one. The two countries are celebrating the 25th anniversary of their strategic ties. The bilateral relationship is, after the one with the US, the second-most consequential for India.
- Remember, both New Delhi and Paris set many standards in their independent foreign policies. Recall that France opposed sanctions against India in the aftermath of the 1998 nuclear test. Add to this the development of solid defense ties between the two countries, with France supplying critical platforms like modern fighter jets to Rafael and submarines to the Indian military. Between 2018 and 2022, France emerged as India’s second-largest defense supplier, accounting for 29% of the country’s imports. That defense footprint is expected to increase further in the coming days, helping India further hedge against the disruptions wrought by the Ukraine war that has made Russian defense supplies and maintenance unreliable.
PC: TFIPOST News Desk
- For the uninitiated, there is another geopolitical dynamic bringing India and France closer. Within the Trans-Atlantic alliance system, the Anglo-American partnership increasingly sees France as having failed to live up to its strategic potential, especially given Paris’s missteps in Africa. The formation of AUKUS in 2021, which cut out France, exemplified this. In turn, France has responded by increasing engagement with countries like India, helping New Delhi, which can now further increase its collaboration with Paris in areas like the Indo-Pacific. As it is, both India and France are opposed to hegemonic activities—read: China—in the region. As such, it is safe to say that the Indo-Franco bilateral relationship will strengthen further with the PM’s latest visit there.
