Indo-French Relations > Formal Dialogue Structure

[Sourav]

In institutional terms, an elaborate dialogue architecture has evolved in the wake of these political initiatives, and provides a framework for regular, structured consultations between France and India on a variety of issues of mutual concern. Apart from the annual consultations between the two foreign ministries at the Foreign Secretary level, France and India have also instituted a high-level six-monthly Strategic Dialogue, which provides the two countries a valuable opportunity for jointly reviewing global developments and the strategic challenges emerging in various regional contexts.

A special Joint Working Group has also been created to enhance cooperation in the crucial fight against terrorism, and which meets every six months. Similarly, designated consultation mechanisms have been working to provide frameworks for bilateral cooperation in the traditional fields of Defence and Commerce. In the field of Defence, such institutional cooperation takes place under the aegis of the Indo-French High Level Committee on Defence, which last met on 19-21 November 2003 in New Delhi.

Similarly, in the realm of economic and commercial relations, the Indo-French Joint Committee on Economic & Technical Cooperation, which last met in Paris on 4th November 2003, provides a broad consultation forum covering all areas of economic interaction between the two countries. Apart from these numerous official forums of interaction, the 'Indo-French Forum' (which was launched as a special initiative following French President Jacques Chirac's visit to India in 1998), has developed into a privileged forum for consultations between the two civil societies, by bringing together eminent personalities and opinion makers of the two countries from the fields of art, culture, science & technology, business and academia.

The Forum, has initiated numerous innovative proposals for enriching the bilateral relationship, in the areas of economic & commercial interaction; agriculture & food processing; energy; health; science & technology; cultural, media & academic exchanges; etc. It has also organised successful colloquia on subject like 'India and France in the 21st Century' and 'Secularism and Tolerance'. The last meeting of the Forum took place in Paris on 13-14 October 2003.