India, France discuss high-tech cooperation, nuclear issues ahead of Modi’s visit in February

Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri with French Foreign Ministry Secretary-General Anne-Marie Descôtes during the India-France Foreign Office Consultation in Paris on January 21, 2025. Photo: X/@MEAIndia via PTI

India and France agreed to increase cooperation in “high-tech areas”, as senior officials held Foreign Office Talks in Paris, and discussed pending issues of bilateral cooperation on nuclear weapons ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit next month.

The delegation, led by Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and including India’s newly appointed Ambassador to France Sanjeev Singla, met French Secretary-General for Europe and Foreign Affairs Anne-Marie Descôtes and French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot.

Mr. Modi will travel to Paris for the Counter-Artificial Intelligence Conference on February 10 and 11. The officials also discussed the Prime Minister’s program and the bilateral agenda during the visit. Last week, the French Minister announced that India would “host” the conference.

Mr. Misri and Ms. Descôtes held a meeting of the India-France Special Task Force on Civil Nuclear Energy, which was decided during the visit of Mr. Macron in India last January. In a joint statement issued last year, the two sides had agreed to convene a Special Task Force “within three months”.

Jaitapur Project

In particular, the talks between the two parties did not resolve the issues with the much-delayed Jaitapur Nuclear Power Project in Maharashtra, despite the revised techno-commercial offer made by the French energy company EDF (Electricite De France) in 2022.

India and France signed a nuclear agreement in 2008 and inked the first MoU for the 990-MW Jaitapur plant in 2009. Officials cited the project’s high cost, time lapses and ongoing delays over India’s Civil Liability for Nuclear law. Damage Act, 2010) is among the issues still being discussed in the Jaitapur project, as India and France look to cooperate with Small. Modular Reactor in the future.

In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the two sides held discussions in several areas of bilateral cooperation including “defence, civil nuclear power, space, cyber and digital and AI”.

“Both sides agreed to expand bilateral cooperation in high-tech fields,” the statement said, adding that the two countries discussed world issues, including the situation in West Asia and the Russia-Ukraine conflict.