India, France to double trade in five years, eye greater cooperation in nuclear energy

INdia and anatole france on lord's day go down a aim for double two-way trade from the current level of about $16 billion within five years and agreed to work more closely on civil nuclear energy, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Emmanuel Macron held talks on bolstering bilateral ties and global crises such as the conflicts in Ukraine and West Asia.The two leaders held a bilateral meeting at Villa Kerylos in the port city of Nice after jointly inaugurating Bharat Innovates 2026, an event aimed at matching Indian deep tech startups with global investors. Nice was the first stop in Modi’s nearly week-long tour of Europe that will also take him to Slovakia, before he returns to France to join outreach sessions of the G7 Summit later this week.Modi said on social media after the meeting that his “exceptionally productive” talks with Macron focused on enhancing cooperation in defence, technology, space, security, counter-terrorism, innovation, healthcare and education.“India and France will keep working together to boost economic ties. The India-EU FTA provides unparalleled momentum in this regard,” Modi said. “We are also launching an Economic Security Dialogue to ensure stronger supply chains in critical minerals and technology.”The two sides agreed to set up a high-level mechanism to double bilateral trade within five years, establish a dialogue on economic security, and adopt an Innovation Roadmap 2030, foreign secretary Vikram Misri told a media briefing in Nice.France is India’s third largest trade partner within the European Union (EU), after the Netherlands and Germany, with two-way trade doubling in the past decade to $15.81 billion during 2025-26. India’s exports to France in this period were valued at $7.1 billion, and bilateral trade is expected to grow with the signing of the India-EU FTA later this year.“A key focus of the discussions was on strengthening and diversifying bilateral ties in the fields of economic growth, technology and innovation. This is especially relevant in view of the conclusion of negotiations earlier this year on the India-EU FTA,” Misri said.Defence cooperation, including India’s plans to acquire 114 Rafale combat jets, and participation of France’s private sector in the development of India’s nuclear energy sector also figured in the discussions, Misri said. This was the first meeting between the two leaders since bilateral ties were elevated to a special global strategic partnership during Macron’s visit to India in February.Misri acknowledged that talks between the two countries on a deal for the Rafale jets, currently operated by the Indian Air Force, have advanced, including the issue of the aircraft having as much indigenous content as possible. “As far as the indigenisation of the Rafale is concerned, the PM emphasised at all his meetings that as much as possible should be done to take forward the Make in India concept in the defence sector. We want to move towards co-development, co-design, co-production and co-manufacturing,” he said.Under the multi-role fighter aircraft (MRFA) project, India plans to acquire 18 Rafale jets from French aviation major Dassault in a fly-away condition, and another 96 will be made in India with around 50% indigenous content.In civil nuclear energy, Modi and Macron noted that India’s SHANTI (Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India) Act creates “new opportunities” for collaboration, including on small and advanced modular reactors, according to a readout from the external affairs ministry.Misri pointed to past discussions between France’s state-run EDF Group and the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited on a nuclear power project at Jaitapur in Maharashtra, and said Modi highlighted the changes introduced to the nuclear industry by the SHANTI Act to facilitate private sector participation and foreign direct investments.While talks continue on the Jaitapur project, including its technical aspects and different possibilities for financing, a “rich vein of discussions” has opened up on small modular reactors (SMRs) and advanced modular reactors (AMRs), Misri said.“The field is open for French nuclear companies…to start looking at direct participation in the Indian nuclear sector or…in participation with Indian private sector companies, whether in conventional nuclear power reactors or in the more advanced SMRs,” he said.Other key outcomes of the meeting were a General Security Agreement on exchange and protection of classified information, creation of a bilateral joint working group focused on the global governance of artificial intelligence, expanded possibilities for using India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) system in France, an MoU on establishing a center of excellence in skilling in aeronautics at the Indian Institute of Technology-Kanpur, a declaration of intent on cooperation in high speed railway, and the signing of 19 agreements between institutions in the innovation ecosystems of India and France.Modi and Macron also discussed ways to bolster collaboration in human spaceflight and space situational awareness, as well as expanding private sector collaboration in space.Modi thanked Macron for the operationalisation of visa-free transit for Indian nationals at French airports, and they discussed ways to enhance mobility of talent and students, and expanding the mutual recognition of educational qualifications.Global issues such as the situation in West Asia and the war in Ukraine also figured in the meeting, and Modi said he looked forward to participating in the G7 Summit in Evian , according to the readout.