4th India-France Annual Defense Dialogue concludes
The 4th India-France Annual Defense Dialogue will today conclude in New Delhi.
Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh has co-chaired the Dialogue with his French counterpart, Sebastien Lecornu. The sessions have spanned several different themes, including counterterrorism and maritime security in the Indo-Pacific.
The French and Indian armed forces are close defense partners. In January, they will celebrate the 25th anniversary of their Strategic Partnership, which sets out principles for bilateral cooperation in the areas of defense, space, and civil nuclear development. Paris and New Delhi have increased their collaboration in the past year, holding several joint air, navy, and army exercises, most recently in Garuda earlier this month.
It is likely that France and India will continue increasing their level of collaboration, particularly regarding joint exercises. While Russia is currently the biggest supplier of arms to the Indian military, Paris is likely to take advantage of Moscow’s growing unreliability to push for more military contracts with India. If they are successful in this, there will likely be a large ramping up in military production in France in order to meet the significant demands of such a military heavyweight as India.
