FS Shringla in France
Paris: Indian Foreign secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla on Thursday arrived in France with an aim to further enhance the bilateral cooperation between two the nations.
‘‘Deepening engagements with a key strategic partner in challenging times .Foreign Secretary @harshvshringla arrives in Paris for a 2-day visit. Interaction with top French officials, think-tanks and media personalities,’’ Indian Embassy in France said in a tweet.
He is on a 7-day trip to European nations, including France, Germany and the United Kingdom.
His visit will conclude on November 4.
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‘‘France, Germany and UK are strategic partners of India and are nations with which India has close and well-established relations. Bilateral ties are multi-dimensional and have grown rapidly, the ministry of external affairs said in a statement on Wednesday.
Foreign secretary will discuss international cooperation in dealing with the ongoing pandemic and its consequences.
India's relations with France, Germany and UK are built on a foundation of shared democratic values and are informed by a commonality of interest in issues such as sustainable development and climate change, it said.
‘‘India has very substantial trade and commercial ties and large investment flows with these countries. India also works closely with these countries in multilateral and plurilateral platforms on various issues,’’ the ministry said.
Indian priorities such as robust and reformed multilateralism, its expanded multilateral and plurilateral engagements including its forthcoming non-permanent tenure in the United Nations Security Council, and its commitment to a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific will be discussed.
His visit to these countries is part of India’s continuing international engagement and diplomatic outreach inspite of the limitations posed by the pandemic.
The Indian push comes at a time when China wariness is becoming a dominant theme in Europe. All three countries that the secretary is visiting, have decided not to allow Chinese companies to supply 5G equipment.
France has started taking an interest in the wider Indian and Pacific Oceans in addition to its traditional preoccupation with maritime events in its protectorates.
Germany too is taking a deeper interest in the developing confrontation in the Indo-Pacific, while the UK has been a traditional US ally for influence and intelligence operations.
The visit closely follows the third 2+2 India-US dialogue that saw India move closer in military information sharing.
