Last February, the ministers agreed to deepen the Franco-Indian strategic partnership and cooperation in the fields of defence, civil nuclear energy, space and security. They adopted a "Bilateral Roadmap on Blue Economy and Ocean Governance" in which France and India commit to joint actions to make the Indo-Pacific an area of sustainable growth, respect for international law and ocean protection. They recalled the importance of intensifying human exchanges between France and India. In this respect, Mr Le Drian recalled the objective of receiving 20,000 Indian students in France by 2025.

This Roadmap has been adopted to increase bilateral exchanges on the blue economy and ocean governance, and will notably cover maritime trade, including services, ports, the naval industry, fisheries, research in marine science and technology, ocean observation, ocean modelling and forecasting services, marine biodiversity, marine protected areas marine renewable energy, maritime manufacturing, ecosystem-based marine management and integrated coastal zone management, marine eco-tourism, inland waterways, cooperation between competent administrations on civil maritime issues, maritime spatial planning, and international law of the sea and related multilateral negotiations.

In order to exchange priorities, share best practices and support ongoing and future cooperation, France and India intend to organise an annual bilateral dialogue on the blue economy and ocean governance. This dialogue will play a leading role in the formulation, organisation and monitoring of cooperation projects under the four pillars of the partnership: (i) institutional, (ii) economic, (iii) infrastructure and (iv) scientific and academic.

Sea Tech Week^® 2022, the next Franco-Indian event in marine science and technology

France and India are delighted that the Campus mondial de la mer has proposed that India be the guest of honour at Sea Tech Week^® in Brest, from 26 to 30 September 2022, which will be an opportunity to increase industrial partnerships and innovations related to the blue economy.

Since 2017, the Campus has maintained a special relationship with India and in particular with the Indian Institute of Technology in Goa (IIT Goa), with which we signed a cooperation agreement in 2020 aimed at promoting the mobility of students and researchers, but also at designing joint Franco-Indian research projects. This bilateral cooperation is widely supported by the French Ambassador to India, Mr. Emmanuel Lenain, as well as the Indian Ambassador to Paris, H.E. Mr. Jawed Ashraf.

Given the focus of Sea Tech Week^® 2022 on "greener and smarter" shipping, France and India will work closely with their shipping, port management, logistics, shipbreaking companies, as well as their shipyards, equipment manufacturers and other maritime manufacturing industries to help prepare for this deadline.

The two countries will also be able to coordinate their efforts to develop projects for the promotion of maritime SMEs, shipbuilding and ship emissions reduction, as well as cleaner, low or zero carbon alternative fuels.

Several Indian players, including the Indian Institute of Technology Goa, the National Institute of Ocean Technology and the National Institute of Technology Silchar, are already involved as session leaders or co-leaders. A large Indian delegation is also expected.

Registration for Sea Tech Week^® opens in April.

The GoAT programme, the guiding principle of scientific and technological cooperation

The Roadmap also specifies that "France and India are delighted with the launch of the GoAT (Goa ATlantic cooperation in Marine Science and Technology) academic and scientific cooperation programme signed in Brest on 20 January 2020 between the French actors of the Cmapus mondial de la mer (French naval academy, Naval group, ENIB, Pôle mer Bretagne Atlantique, the French Hydrographic Service Shom, ENSTA Bretagne, France Energies Marines and the University of Brest) and the Indian Institute of Technology in Goa.

They will support its implementation and facilitate the granting of visas for the students and researchers concerned. France and India wish to encourage student mobility in the field of the blue economy and marine sciences and technologies. They call for the establishment of partnerships between higher education institutions.

In order to encourage scientific partnerships in marine science, the French Embassy in India will endeavour to provide five scholarships for student mobility in this field from 2022 onwards. India will provide administrative facilitation for the implementation of such partnerships.

Franco-Indian call for an Indo-Pacific partnership on natural parks

Finally, France and India have developed a strong, innovative and multi-dimensional partnership to promote a sustainable approach in the Indo-Pacific region through the establishment of protected areas and natural parks, called the Indo-Pacific Partnership on Parks (I3P).