Rajnath Singh will co-chair the 4th India-France Annual Defence Dialogue with the French minister of armed forces Sebastien Lecornu on his visit to India from 26-28 November

Defence minister Rajnath Singh will co-chair the 4th India-France Annual Defence Dialogue with the French minister of armed forces Sebastien Lecornu on his visit to India from 26-28 November, the Ministry of Defence said in a statement.

The visiting French Minister shall also meet External Affair Minister and the National Security Adviser.

“This is the first visit of Sebastien Lecornu as French Minister of Armed Forces to India. He is also scheduled to visit Headquarters Southern Naval Command at Kochi and see India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant," the defence ministry said.

India and France have close and friendly relations. In 1998, the two countries entered into Strategic Partnership, marking convergence of their views on a range of international issues apart from a close and growing bilateral relationship.

The areas of Defence & Security cooperation, Space cooperation and Civil nuclear cooperation constitute the principal pillars of our Strategic Partnership with France.

India and France are increasingly engaged in new areas of cooperation like security in the Indian Ocean region, climate change including the International Solar Alliance, and sustainable growth and development among others.

India and France share a close degree of convergence on a range of regional and global issues. In the economic domain, while there exists vast potential, French economic capacities, its business and industry, its capital and technologies have forged linkages with Indian economy and India’s developmental goals. There exist vibrant bilateral cultural and educational linkages as also growing people-to-people contacts. Indian diaspora also has a sizable presence in France and in its overseas territories, the ministry said.