France reaffirms India ties on Indo-Pacific maritime security

French Minister for the Armed forces, Sebastien Lecornu, reiterated that France and India are united in their desire to defend their maritime sovereignty and guarantee freedom of movement at sea in the Indo-Pacific zone.

Lecornu is on a visit to India to hold the Indo-French Annual Defence Dialogue and to strengthen the strategic ties, according to the statement released by French Embassy. He also on-boarded the Indian Navy's newest aircraft carrier, designed and manufactured in India - INS Vikrant.

"Aboard INS Vikrant, the Indian Navy's newest aircraft carrier, designed and manufactured in India. France and India are united in their desire to defend their maritime sovereignty and guarantee freedom of movement at sea in the Indo-Pacific zone," tweeted Lecornu.

During his two-day visit to India, November 27-28, French Minister Lecornu will hold wide-ranging talks with his counterpart, Rajnath Singh, spanning all aspects of our defence cooperation, and industrial and technological partnerships in line with India's "Aatmanirbhar Bharat" policy.

French Minister is also expected to meet External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and National Security Adviser to the Prime Minister, Ajit Doval to discuss global issues of common concern, including the situation in Europe and in the Indo-Pacific and counter-terrorism.

(ANI)