New Delhi, Feb 6 (UNI) Taking forward the India-France-UAE Trilateral Dialogue that was launched in September 2022, Indian Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra on Monday participated in the Focal Points’ Meeting of the Trilateral Dialogue in Paris and held talks on potential cooperation in the fields of defence, energy and environment.
Foreign Secretary Kwatra, who is on an official visit to France from February 5-7 participated in the Focal Points’ Meeting of the India-France-UAE Trilateral Dialogue, which was launched in September 2022 by the Foreign Ministers of the three countries.
“As a follow up to the Joint Statement issued and the roadmap adopted by the Foreign Ministers of India-France-UAE during their telephone call on 04 February 2023, the three focal points discussed the practical steps to take the cooperation forward including in the fields of defence, energy and environment, innovation and people-to-people exchanges, by synergising the strong bilateral partnerships between India, France and the UAE. They agreed to remain in touch and regularly review progress on the trilateral roadmap,” an official statement said.
India, France and the UAE had on February 4, 2023 announced the creation of the trilateral dialogue initiative for cooperation in areas including defence, energy and technology – an ambitious move that comes amid the geopolitical impact of the nearly-year-long Ukraine-Russia conflict.
The plan was finalised during a phone conversation among External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, his French counterpart Catherine Colonna and UAE's Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Saturday.
A joint statement said it was acknowledged that defence is an area of close cooperation between the three countries.
The three foreign ministers met on September 19 last year for the first time in a trilateral format on the margins of the UN General Assembly in New York, and had agreed to establish the trilateral cooperation initiative in line with the shared desire to promote international stability and prosperity and to build on constructive and collaborative ties between the three countries, a joint statement said.
The three sides agreed the trilateral initiative will serve as a “forum to promote the design and execution of cooperation projects in the fields of energy, with a focus on solar and nuclear energy, as well as in the fight against climate change and the protection of biodiversity, particularly in the Indian Ocean region”.
In this context, the three countries will explore the possibility of working with the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) to pursue “concrete, actionable projects on clean energy, the environment, and biodiversity”.
A range of trilateral events are to be organised within the framework of India’s G20 presidency and the UAE’s hosting of COP28 in 2023. The three countries further agreed to expand cooperation through initiatives such as the Mangrove Alliance for Climate led by the UAE and the Indo-Pacific Parks Partnership led by India and France.
MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi, in tweets today said: “@AmbVMKwatra participated in a meeting of focal points of the India-France-UAE trilateral dialogue and discussed potential cooperation in the fields of defence, energy and environment, innovation and people-to-people exchanges.
“The three sides agreed to build upon the strength of the existing bilateral partnerships between India, France and the UAE.”
Separately, Foreign Secretary Kwatra also held Foreign Office Consultations with Secretary-General Anne-Marie Descôtes of the French Foreign Ministry.
The two sides “Reviewed the progress in bilateral relations and discussed cooperation at the regional & multilateral level. And also agreed to closely work together in areas of global issues including UNSC, food security and climate, particularly in the context of India’s G20 Presidency,” the MEA spokesperson tweeted.
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