India, France, and the UAE on Saturday announced an ambitious road map for cooperation in defense, energy, and technology under a trilateral framework.
The plan was finalized during a phone conversation between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, and his France and UAE counterparts, Catherine Colonna and Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, respectively.
A joint statement said it was acknowledged that defense is an area of close cooperation between the three countries. “Therefore, efforts will be undertaken to further promote compatibility, and joint development and co-production, whilst seeking out avenues for further collaboration and training between the three countries’ defense forces,” it said.
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.
In the meeting, they agreed to establish a formal trilateral cooperation initiative, with the aim of expanding cooperation in various fields of mutual interest. “It is in this context that a phone call between the three ministers was held today to adopt a road map for implementation of this initiative,” the MEA stated.
The statement said the three sides agreed that 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. “For this purpose, 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,” it added.
In support of the endeavors, a range of trilateral events will be organized in the framework of the Indian Presidency of the G20 and the UAE’s hosting of COP-28 in 2023, respectively.
They decided to boost cooperation in food security and circular economy and vowed to focus on key issues such as tackling single-use plastic pollution and desertification.
The trilateral initiative will serve as a platform to expand cooperation between the development agencies of the three counties on sustainable projects, besides ensuring greater alignment of their respective economic, technological, and social policies with the objectives of the Paris climate agreement, according to the statement.
The three countries also agreed to expand their 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.
The three sides also underlined their keen desire to cooperate in the field of the circular economy under the aegis of India’s Mission LiFE, the statement said.
It said the three countries will seek to strengthen exchanges of views on emerging threats from infectious diseases, as well as on measures to fight against future pandemics. In this regard, cooperation in multilateral organizations such as the WHO, Gavi-the Vaccine Alliance, the Global Fund, and the United will be encouraged.
“Further, the three countries will attempt to identify tangible cooperation on implementing the ‘One Health’ approach, and support the development of local capacities in biomedical innovation and production within developing countries,” it said.
