Misri discusses freedom of navigation with French Foreign minister; Jaishankar dials Kuwait, Singapore counterparts

The MEA said that India France Foreign Office Consultations were held Monday in Paris, co-chaired by Misri and Secretary-General of the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs Martin Briens. He also met Emmanuel Bonne, Diplomatic Advisor to the President of France.

The MEA statement said that “both sides undertook a comprehensive review of the progress made in various facets of the bilateral relationship, especially in context of the elevation of ties to Special Global Strategic Partnership and the visit of President Macron to India in February 2026.”

It also said that the two sides also reviewed key deliverables including the India-France Year of Innovation, cooperation on economic security, the shared ambition of increasing the crossflow of STEM talent, including more Indian students in France, and the goal of doubling bilateral trade, especially in light of the conclusion of negotiations of the India-EU Free Trade Agreement.

“The discussions encompassed strategic areas of bilateral cooperation including defence, civil nuclear energy, space, cyber and digital, AI, institutional dialogue mechanisms, and initiatives fostering people-to-people exchanges and cultural ties. The two sides also exchanged views on global issues such as cooperation in environment, climate change and health, cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, trilateral dialogues, joint development projects in third countries, as well as developments in West Asia and Ukraine,” it said.

Misri and Briens agreed to meet again for the Strategic Space Dialogue, scheduled to be held later this year. The French readout said that as “India is working closely with the French G7 Presidency, they discussed the responses that our two countries could develop to tackle major macroeconomic imbalances and promote a more inclusive form of multilateralism”.

In Delhi, Jaishankar spoke to Foreign ministers of Kuwait and Singapore, and both discussions touched upon the situation in West Asia.

After his conversation with his counterpart from Kuwait, Jaishankar said, “A good conversation with FM Sheikh Jarrah Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah of Kuwait. It focused on the regional situation and the well being of the Indian community.”

Kuwait’s foreign ministry issued a statement noting that the exchange between the leaders revolved around the “latest developments in regional events and the efforts being made regarding them”.

After talking to Singapore’s Foreign minister, Vivian Balakrishnan, Jaishankar said, “Always nice to speak to FM @VivianBala of Singapore. Our discussions were about the conflict in West Asia and its implications.”

Shubhajit Roy, Diplomatic Editor at The Indian Express, has been a journalist for more than 25 years now. Roy joined The Indian Express in October 2003 and has been reporting on foreign affairs for more than 17 years now. Based in Delhi, he has also led the National government and political bureau at The Indian Express in Delhi — a team of reporters who cover the national government and politics for the newspaper. He has got the Ramnath Goenka Journalism award for Excellence in Journalism ‘2016. He got this award for his coverage of the Holey Bakery attack in Dhaka and its aftermath. He also got the IIMCAA Award for the Journalist of the Year, 2022, (Jury’s special mention) for his coverage of the fall of Kabul in August 2021 — he was one of the few Indian journalists in Kabul and the only mainstream newspaper to have covered the Taliban’s capture of power in mid-August, 2021. ... Read More

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