Narendra Modi in Paris: France reiterates firm support for India's permanent UNSC membership

Indian PM Narendra Modi is currently visiting France and attended the AI Action Summit in Paris.

A joint statement issued by India and France said: "The two leaders stressed, in particular, the urgent need for the reform of the United Nations Security Council and agreed to coordinate closely in multilateral fora, including on UNSC matters. France reiterated its firm support for India’s permanent membership of the UNSC."

"The two leaders agreed to strengthen conversations on regulation of use of the veto in case of mass atrocities," the statement said.

They held extensive discussions on long-term global challenges and current international developments and agreed to intensify their global and regional engagement, including through multilateral initiatives and institutions.

Acknowledging the paramount importance of advancing scientific knowledge, research and innovation, and recalling the long and enduring engagement between India and France in those areas, President Macron and Prime Minister Modi announced the grand inauguration of the India-France Year of Innovation in New Delhi in March 2026 by launching its Logo.

Both leaders appreciated the regular conduct of military exercises in all domains including maritime exercises and joint patrolling by maritime patrol aircraft. They noted the recent visit of the French Carrier Strike Group Charles De Gaulle to India in January 2025, followed by the Indian Navy’s participation in the French multinational exercise La Perouse, and the future conduct of the Varuna exercise in March 2025.

They welcomed the launch of FRIND-X (France-India Defence Startup Excellence) in Paris on 5-6 December 2024, involving the DGA and the Defence Innovation Agency, in line with the vision enshrined in HORIZON 2047 and the India-France Defence Industrial Roadmap. This collaborative platform brings together key stakeholders across both defence ecosystems, including defence startups, investors, incubators, accelerators, and academia, fostering a new era of defence innovation and partnership.

DRDO

In order to deepen the research and development partnerships in defence, both leaders stressed on the early launch of an R&D framework through a Technical Arrangement for cooperation in defence technologies between DGA and DRDO.

In addition, both leaders welcomed the ongoing discussions between L’Office National d’Etudes et de Recherches Aérospatiales (ONERA) and Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to identify technologies for R&D partnerships.

Further, India welcomes the participation of Indian students, alongside French students, in the challenge on distributed intelligencelaunched recently by Interdisciplinary Center for Defence and Security from the Institut Polytechnique de Parisand encourages organizing of more joint challenges in the future to evoke the interest of students in defence.

Both leaders had a detailed conversation on international issues, including on the Middle-East and the war in Ukraine.

They agreed to pursue their efforts to coordinate and remain closely engaged on a regular basis.

The two leaders recalled the launch of the India-Middle East-Europe Corridor (IMEC) on the margins of the G20 Summit in Delhi in September 2023 and agreed to work together more closely on implementing the initiative.

Both leaders stressed the importance of IMEC to foster connectivity, sustainable growth trajectories and access to clean energy across these regions. In this regard, they acknowledged the strategic location of Marseille in the Mediterranean Sea.

The two leaders lauded the launching of the India-France Indo-Pacific Triangular Development Cooperation, aiming to support climate- and SDG-focused projects from third countries in the Indo-Pacific region.

They welcomed the partnership between Proparco and the concerned Indian microfinance institutions for an equity agreement of 13 million Euros in the areas of financial inclusion and women empowerment.

They also commended the strong and fruitful cooperation within the framework of the Franco-Indian presidency of the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure and the International Solar Alliance.