India and France
◽ Background
✓In 1998, the two countries entered into Strategic Partnership which is emblematic of their convergence of views on a range of international issues apart from a close and growing bilateral relationship.
✓The areas of defence cooperation, space cooperation and civil nuclear cooperation constitute the three principal pillars of our Strategic Partnership.
✓Apart from these traditional fields of cooperation, India and France are increasingly engaged in new areas of cooperation like climate change, sustainable growth and development, the International Solar Alliance etc.
✓France is the only western country with large territory in the IOR including the Reunion Islands, that spans about two million square kilometres of an EEZ, and it has a population of one million French Citizens in the region, including about 30% of Indian origin.
✓The French navy maintains bases in the UAE,Djibouti as well as in Reunion, with a total of 20k forces permanently based in the IOR.