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June 15, 2026e-Paper
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June 15, 2026e-Paper
Updated – June 16, 2026 01:08 am IST
‘There is a swift move to advance bilateral technology cooperation’ | Photo Credit: Reuters
It is a measure of the importance that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron attach to the India-France relationship that they are meeting again in France, on the sidelines of the G-7 Summit in Evian (June 15-17), barely months after Mr. Macron’s visit to India for the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi in February. During that visit, the two leaders jointly inaugurated the India-France Year of Innovation 2026.
In normal diplomacy, such announcements often take time to translate into action. It is therefore notable that Mr. Modi and Mr. Macron are already moving swiftly to advance bilateral technology cooperation. They jointly inaugurated the “Bharat Innovates” event in Nice (June 14-16), bringing together leading Indian start-ups and venture capital funds. Mr. Modi will then attend the VivaTech Summit in Paris on June 18, Europe’s largest technology and start-up event, underscoring the growing India-France technology partnership.
The India-French relationship is constantly evolving and is consequently being updated by the two leaders who are committed to the cause.
While the recently elevated Special Global Strategic Partnership has always included traditional areas such as defence, nuclear and space, it is the focus on tech and innovation that is now exciting for the relationship.
This focus will include cyberspace, Artificial Intelligence (AI), health care, sustainable development, creative economy, education and research. These are new facets of the evolving and dynamic relationship and will no doubt take ties to greater heights. Tech and innovation has tremendous mutual advantages for both sides. France has some of the best state-of-the-art technology in aerospace, AI, robotics, biotech, health care, green tech and sustainable development, besides being a European hub for the digital economy.
It is not hard to see how India can not only benefit from access to technology in these areas but also bring its own added value in terms of frugal innovation, start-ups, digital public infrastructure and biotech, just to name a few. The possibilities are endless. It must be hoped that the two tech summits — “Bharat Innovates” and the “Vivatech” — will enable the private sector on both sides to come up with substantive collaborative arrangements.
The two leaders are also expected to take stock of the special strategic partnership. There are a number of dossiers which can benefit from their political and strategic guidance. The first is certainly the idea of the co-designing and co-production of defence platforms which must be expedited. Progress is also desirable in emerging areas such as small modular reactors, joint satellite development and human flight programmes.
The potential for Franco-Indian cooperation in Africa has not been fully exploited and this must get the attention of both sides. This becomes even more important in light of the postponement of the India-Africa Forum Summit (May 2026) due to the Ebola crisis in Africa. The two leaders will doubtless exchange views on the ongoing conflicts: in Ukraine and in Iran, which have adversely and disproportionately affected countries of the Global South.
Mr. Modi’s Europe visit (June 13-18, 2026) also includes a state visit to Slovakia, the first-ever visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Slovakia since its independence in 1993.
France, as the current chair of the G-7, will host the G-7 summit in Evian from June 15 to 17, 2026. It is difficult to imagine a G-7 summit without India being invited, and Mr. Modi’s participation is particularly important given the geopolitical turbulence of the present moment. United States President Donald Trump is also expected to attend it. While attention will naturally focus on the possibility of a Modi-Trump meeting, any interaction may not be a substantive one, given the G-7 atmospherics.
More important is the evolving role of the G-7 itself in global geopolitics. With the G-20 having lost some of its momentum in recent years, discussions have resurfaced about expanding the G-7 into a D10 — a grouping of 10 major democracies. Whether, and how soon, such a transformation materialises remains uncertain, but it is a development India will need to watch closely.
At the end of the day, two middle powers — India and France — which set great store by strategic autonomy, have a fundamental role to play in contributing to geopolitical stability and ensuring a smooth transition to a multipolar world. In that sense, Mr. Modi and Mr. Macron shoulder a significant responsibility.
Mohan Kumar is a former Indian Ambassador to France and now Dean/Professor at O.P. Jindal Global University. The views expressed are personal
Published – June 16, 2026 12:08 am IST
Narendra Modi / India / France / diplomacy / G7 summit / summit / Artificial Intelligence / technology (general) / Europe / defence / nuclear policy / space programme / health / Sustainability / education / research / aerospace / robotics / green technologies
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