During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s two-day trip to France from July 13–14 to take part in the Bastille Day celebrations, a number of agreements between the two nations were reached.

In order to develop a long-term LNG Sale and Purchase Agreement (SPA), an agreement was struck between Indian Oil Corporation Limited and Total Energies Gas and Power Ltd (Total Energies) in the field of strategic cooperation.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on collaborative research projects, including in the field of Deep Ocean Mission, exchange of scientific and technical expertise was signed between the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), Chennai, and Institut Français de Recherche pour l’exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER) in the area of scientific cooperation.

For cooperation in the field of health and medicine, a letter of intent was published. Digital health, AI in healthcare, biotechnology, one health strategy to combat antibiotic resistance, interchange and training of medical doctors, etc. are some of the areas of cooperation.

The use of the Exert Modules of JAVA for Assessment of Conjunction (JAC) software and the Conjunction Analysis and Evaluation Service: Alerts and Recommendations (CAESAR) were both agreed upon by the two nations to improve collaboration in space.

ISRO and CNES issued a joint statement regarding their shared developments in the launcher industry.

An MoU was signed for institutional collaboration in the domain of digital technologies between MeitY and the French Ministry of Economy.

Another Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on technological cooperation in the area of civil aviation was signed by the Airports Authority of India and France’s Direction-Générale d’Aviation Civile.

Between the two nations, an MoU on technical arrangements for Civil Aviation Security (AVSEC) was also inked.

In the meantime, PM Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron concurred at their Friday meeting that the friendship between France and India has been strong through the worst storms and brave and ambitious through the best times.

The two leaders concurred at their meeting today that their relationship has endured even the worst storms and has been brave and ambitious while riding opportunity’s high tides. The joint statement on PM Modi’s visit to France stated that it is based on “common values, belief in sovereignty and strategic autonomy, an unwavering commitment to international law and the UN Charter, an abiding faith in multilateralism, and a common quest for a stable multipolar world.”

The two presidents evaluated how the two countries’ relationship had changed and grown over the previous 25 years in every area of bilateral cooperation. In 1988, then-French President Jacques Chirac and then-Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee upgraded the bilateral relationship to a strategic partnership, according to the joint statement.