By Kanwal Sibal President Emmanuel Macron s visit to India is important in multiple contexts. He is a strong-willed and assertive leader with an ambitious reform agenda for France as well as for the European Union. Today with Brexit and the weakening of the once towering leadership of Angela Merkel Macron has positioned himself as the most credible interlocutor in Europe. This makes his visit that much more important. In the international context India and France can benefit from a shared understanding of the challenges that the world is facing today with the global uncertainties produced by Trump s disruptive foreign policy and the lurch towards dictatorship in China that can only make the handling of its geopolitical ambitions more difficult. India and France are working together to implement the Paris Agreement on Climate Change which Trump has repudiated. On green energy the International Solar https://kkflipkart.wordpress.com/ Alliance will be set in motion jointly by PM Narendra Modi and Macron on March 11. At Davos Macron with Trump s policies in mind issued a call to all and everyone of us to push back against protectionist and nationalist forces. Macron values the WTO. We have common ground with him both on protectionism and WTO s importance which we should consolidate during his visit. If China succeeds in changing the power balance with the US in the western Pacific US weakness will become Europe s too because the Transatlantic alliance will feel the impact. The Eurasian component of China s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) also affects France because the 16 1initiative incorporating East European and Balkan countries will eventually be at EU s cost. The BRI s maritime dimension is of particular concern to New Delhi as China is building bridge heads around India but France has to be concerned too because of its equities in the Indian Ocean. Macron s visit should lead to a bolstering of India-France maritime cooperation in the Indian Ocean with more synergy between the two navies in the Gulf area where France has a base (in Abu Dhabi) and better mutual understanding of the implications of a Chinese base in Gwadar. France could also participate in connectivity projects such as the Asia-Africa Growth Corridor which would extend to Africa s eastern shore board where France has a territorial presence. At the bilateral level our relations with France have been stable and productive. The spectrum of these relations is wider than with our other major western partners as beyond defence trade investment education and culture we have had long standing cooperation in sensitive areas such as nuclear and space. France has historically shown more understanding of our strategic programmes than others. It was the first western country with which we established a Strategic Partnership and the first with which we initiated a Strategic Dialogue after our 1998 nuclear tests when France refused to impose bilateral any sanctions on us. It has valued the independence of our foreign policy. It has not intruded itself into our relations with our neighbours and ceased arming Pakistan years ago. Leaders from no other country have been honoured as many times as chief guest at our R-Day celebrations. Our understanding and cooperation on terrorism issues has grown. All this has been trust-building. Notwithstanding all this longer term strategic considerations do not sufficiently shape our policies towards France. Lack of political instruction bureaucratic decision making limited media academic and think-tank exposure to each other competition from other countries linguistic cultural business and people to people bias in favour of the English-speaking world are some reasons. Macron s visit should hopefully serve to inject greater fizz in what is intrinsically a champagne quality relationship.
ALSO READ French President Macron to arrive on March 9 for four-day visit to India French Prez Emmanuel Macron to visit India in Dec to discuss bilateral ties Emmanuel Macron meets Xi Jinping as China France seal business deals Play by EU rules post Brexit for single market access: Macron says in UK Macron s India visit: Pact to be signed to accept professional degrees span.p-content div id = div-gpt line-height:0;font-size:0 Narendra Modi Prime Minister of the world s fastest-growing economy and Emmanuel Macron President of the world s most aggressive climate change saviour have a rendezvous starting from March 9 in New Delhi. They truly represent the strongest redeemers of the world s most formidable challenges of today - climate change terrorism and inequality. And no one knows more than these two leaders that combating these three enemies would require tremendous political will and resources. That is because confronting them is not an exercise of three separate encounters on three fronts. They are interlinked and complex clusters. Climate change is aggravating inequality that drives terrorism -- creating a vicious spiral of storms. ALSO READ: Macron s India visit: Pact to be signed to accept professional degrees The good news is that the two leaders are compatible and likeminded. Macron is a great listener and keen to learn from elders like Modi. And Modi is a staunch believer that young leaders like Macron would be tomorrow s stewards to steer the world in the right direction in the milieu of a political quagmire. Modi is innovative and Macron is inventive. That combination of attributes of these two leaders is giving shape to one of the path-breaking projects that has emerged from Modi s brave innovative initiative -- the International Solar Alliance (ISA) . With 1 000 GW of solar installations targeted globally by 2030 with proposed funds of 1 trillion the basic concept of the alliance is to pool together international collaboration for research technology best practices and standards on solar energy including improving solar cell efficiency material research and policies. ISA entered into force on December 6 2017 after 15 countries ratified it. ISA heralds a new era of partnerships and collective actions to combat the effects of climate change reduce dependence on fossil fuels and reduce air pollution. ALSO READ: French President Macron to arrive on March 9 for four-day visit to India The region between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn -- to which the ISA is confined -- is really the sunshine belt around the Earth. The countries in this belt receive the most solar energy among the 196 countries in the world. Modi has scored over a strategic and diplomatic tactic of China s President Xi Jinping who has almost concurrently flagged the OBOR - One Belt One Road initiative. The ISA a real belt of 121 countries stands out in comparison with the OBOR initiative (now renamed Belt and Road Initiative or BRI) on two counts. Firstly the BRI is aimed at enhancing connectivity for a quantum jump in trade mainly between China and 68 other countries without specific acknowledgement of the environmental impact of such a jump. The ISA aims at sustainable development of the 121 countries in the tropical belt. Then the BRI is viewed by many as a project led by one country with its hidden interests. The ISA is a bilateral initiative of India and France that has now transformed into an inter-governmental treaty with voting mandates leveraging the principles of the United Nations. Clearly it is a wider and honest effort towards sustainable development. Nature indeed plays a great balancer. Rich countries mainly outside the belt of the Tropics are replete with finance and weapon power whereas ISA countries are endowed with bright sunlight. The economic revolution in the oil-rich countries in the 1970s is likely to be repeated in the sun-rich countries -- this time without any climate change impact. In fact ISA would be the correction factor to the climatic damage done by OPEC countries. Any country in the world even outside the tropical belt can join the ISA except that those lying outside the Tropics would not have voting rights. Thus France and recently joined Australia would not be voting. It is great experiment of a real multi-lateral treaty resulting from bilateral ingenuity. The timing of the official launch of the initiative cannot be better. The prices of electricity from solar energy are reaching parity with the electricity produced by fossil fuels. The latest report from the International Energy Agency (IEA) shows that the global investment in renewable energy over the last three years is more than that in fossil fuels. The employment generated in the renewable energy sector is more than in that of fossil fuels. Some experts say that increasing and intensifying trade wars and anti-dumping appeals on solar panels around the world are signs that trade in solar panels is pole-vaulting . Clearly the Modi-Macron mega moment has arrived. The impending risk however is that unrelated political debates and military deals are likely to overshadow this aspiring global initiative. Numbers like three additional Scorpene submarines and 36 Rafale fighters are likely to take over particularly in India s argumentative and democratic media. Yet another risk is the usual pitfalls of inter-governmental process well-known in the United Nations arena. Each of the 121 countries has one vote but also a stand-alone opinion. That may delay the decisions on joint research on solar cell efficiencies and storage technologies as well as allotment of funding for various projects. It is important to recognise that there are a number of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that ISA can achieve. Its contribution to energy for all and climate change and eradicating poverty would be significant. The key to success however is linking ISA to the common man at the bottom of the pyramid. What is more relevant for India is not to push ISA to meet its own pledges at the Paris climate agreement or its own renewable energy targets of 175 GW but to anchor its efforts to mainstream solar and wind energy into all strata of society. Emphasis on using solar power not only in the building sector but also in sectors that are socially important like agriculture health SMEs IT industry and university campuses should be the key. It is important that ISA not only targets the funding and gigawatt targets but takes the targets to rural areas through solar vaccine coolers solar vegetable cold storages solar schools and solar colleges. India and France should also set up an example by encouraging solar cell and panel manufacturing in the Tropical Belt countries and supporting the fair and just practices in trade in products related to solar energy. It will not be an exaggeration to state that ISA if it works smoothly and shows promise can be a well deserving candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize. (Rajendra Shende is Chairman TERRE Policy Centre a former UNEP Director and IIT Alumnus. The views expressed are personal. He can be contacted at shende.rajendra@gmail.com)
NEW DELHI; India and France today signed an MoU for mutual recognition of educational qualifications . Frederique Vidal France s Minister of Higher Education and Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar signed the MoU at the Knowledge Summit held coinciding with the first state visit of French President Emmanuel Macron to India. The Knowledge Summit brought together education and research industry experts. At the Summit agreements were signed between universities and research institutions of both countries to boost student mobility between the two countries. It is historic...for the first time; a government-to- government MoU has been signed to mutually recognise academic qualifications. It will help the student community. There used to be only bilateral arrangements between institutions to institutions Javadekar said while speaking at the Knowledge Summit at the Pravasi Bharatiya Bhawan. According to an official statement The agreement between the two governments will facilitate mutual recognition of academic qualifications. It will mark a breakthrough providing students across-the-board recognition to degrees acquired in India . It will drive mobility of students by mutually recognising academic qualifications at various levels: starting with secondary school Masters to Doctorate degrees and also recognises periods of study in the partner country it said. The first high-level India-France Knowledge Summit was jointly organised by French Institute in India along with Ministry of Higher Education Research & Innovation (MESRI) France and Ministry of Human Resource Development Government of India. Pointing out that more than 5 000 Indian students are studying in France and about 1 500 French students in India the minister said the HRD Ministry would launch a Study in India initiative to attract more and more students from other countries to India. Apart from the MoU on Mutual Recognition of Academic Qualifications between India and France 15 MoUs between various institutions of India and France in the areas of higher education research innovation faculty exchange scientific cooperation were exchanged.
NEW DELHI: India and France today decided to step up cooperation in space technology and use it in the maritime domain. The two sides also decided to expedite work on the Jaitapur nuclear power plant during talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Central National D Etudes Spatiales (CNES) inked an agreement for end-to-end solution for detection identification and monitoring of vessels in the regions of interest. India and France share a robust relationship in the area of space which is five-decades-old. In the field of atomic energy the two countries signed an agreement to expedite the work on Jaitapur nuclear power plant. The Industrial Way Forward Agreement was signed between EDF France and Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL). The EDF will be constructing six atomic reactors in Jaitapur with a capacity of 1 650 MW each. The plant which will come up in coastal Maharashtra will be the largest nuclear park in the country.
Paris: Nowhere is fashion a bigger business than in France and President Emmanuel Macron intends to keep it that way. Designers from France s Jean Paul Gaultier to Lebanon s Elie Saab descended on the Elysee Palace for dinner on Monday as Macron sought to further boost one of the country s most profitable sectors with an appeal to brands from far and wide. File image of Emmanuel Macron. AP The gala coinciding with Paris Fashion Week was the latest effort by 40-year-old Macron who came to power last May to try and lure entrepreneurs with a pro-business agenda weeks after a summit with business executives at Versailles. I want to say the same to those who create: choose France Macron said addressing guests such as Christian Louboutin famed for his stiletto shoes Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour and Alexander McQueen designer Sarah Burton. My deepest wish is that creators whether they come from India Japan Africa the United States or China will consider coming to (create) in our country and that we get everything in order to make that work easy for them he said. Macron s wife Brigitte also present wore one of her favoured French brands Louis Vuitton. Paris catwalk shows and France s broader fashion industry are already huge motors for growth and jobs at a time when the government is trying to bring down a stubbornly high unemployment rate of nearly 9 percent. One study by the French Fashion Institute IFM puts the sector ahead of autos and aerospace put together by annual sales which hover at 150 billion euros ( 184.8 billion) when including areas like jewels watches cosmetics and perfumes. Yet some designers said public cheerleading was welcome even if Paris-based luxury conglomerates like LVMH and Kering owner of Saint Laurent have already helped put France squarely on the map.
New Delhi: Congress President Rahul Gandhi is scheduled to meet French president Emmanuel Macron during his four-day India visit. According to sources the meeting is slated for Sunday after Rahul returns from his two-nation visit to Thailand and Singapore that is part of his overseas Indians outreach plan. The Congress which has launched a tirade against the government over the Rafale deal that Prime Minister Narendra Modi struck during his visit to France in April 2015 however said that the issue would not be raised during the meeting. File image of Rahul Gandhi. Twitter@INCIndia The Congress party will not discuss India s defence deal with the head of state of a foreign country. This is our internal matter and this discussion the government has to do with France and not the Congress. We are demanding answers from our government and not from the French government Congress communications in-charge Randeep Surjewala said. Alluding to the Rafale deal he said that when one goes to buy something the buyer has to ensure whether the product is good or not as the seller will obviously say his product is good. The buyer has to decide looking at his pocket Surjewala said. The government has to ensure that its money is not wasted and gets the best deal in the least money. There should be no loss to the state exchequer. It is not the responsibility of Macron but Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the defence minister on which they have failed he alleged. The Congress has been attacking the government on the Rafale deal and demanding answers from it over the price of the aircraft. The Congress on Friday alleged that the government has caused a loss of Rs 12 612 crore to the state exchequer by buying the aircraft from Dassault Aviation the French manufacturer of Rafale fighter jets. The party alleged that the company sold each jet to India at Rs 351 crore more than those sold to Qatar and Egypt 11 months ago. The government has refused to divulge details of the purchase price of Rafale jets due to the secrecy clause in the agreement signed with the French government. Surjewala said if a president or prime minister of any country come to India he is our guest and there are no differences between the government and the Opposition . The heads of state formally meet the Opposition leaders as they had been meeting Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley in the past he said. Rahul who is the leader of the principal Opposition party in the country has been meeting visiting heads of state and government after he took over as party chief. Rahul recently met visiting Cambodian prime minister Samdech Hun Sen and Canadian premier Justin Trudeau. He was in Italy during Vietnam president Tran Dai Quang s visit who met UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and former prime minister Manmohan Singh.
NEW DELHI: French President Emmanuel Macron will pay a four-day visit to India from March 9 during which he would discuss the economic political and strategic ties between the two countries a statement by the Ministry of External Affairs said today. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold delegation-level talks with the French president on March 10. The leaders will co-chair the Founding Conference of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) a day later . The initiative to form the ISA for harnessing solar energy was taken by Modi and Macron s predecessor François Hollande it said. The French president s spouse Brigitte Marie-Claude Macron will also accompany him. The last visit of the French president to India was in January 2016 when Macron was the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations that year. Modi last visited France in June 2017 immediately after Macron was elected to office. India-France strategic partnership established in 1998 is one of the most important and comprehensive bilateral engagements and is marked by intense http://kkflipkart.fourfour.com/ and frequent high-level exchanges and deep political understanding. We have enhanced and ongoing cooperation in the defence maritime space security and energy-related sectors and are increasingly working together on all issues of concern including terrorism climate change sustainable growth and development infrastructure smart urbanisation S&T cooperation and youth exchanges. The visit of President Macron is aimed at strengthening the economic political and strategic dimension of our bilateral engagement the statement by the MEA said. The bilateral trade between India and France for the period April 2016 to March 2017 reached USD 10.95 billion. France is the 9th largest foreign investor in India with a cumulative investment of USD 6.09 billion from April 2000 to October 2017. Close to 1 000 French companies are present in India and about 120 Indian companies have invested in excess of Euro 1 billion in France and employ close to 7 000 people. The India-France CEO s Forum will also take place during Macron s visit to India the statement said. The visit is also aimed at forging not only strong manufacturing and technology partnerships but also greater people-to-people contacts especially through greater exchanges of students and researchers it added.
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