India, France, UAE Trilateral Initiative

General Studies Paper 2

Context:

• Recently, India, France, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE)have agreed to form a partnership to work together in the fields of nuclear and solar energy,  as well as in tackling  climate change  and preserving 
• The idea of this partnership was first discussed at a meeting in New York during the United Nations General Assembly in September 2022.

Major Highlights of the Trilateral Initiative

• This 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.
• The three countries have also agreed to work together in defence, countering infectious diseases, and promoting cooperation in global health organisations such as the World Health Organization, Gavi-the Vaccine Alliance,  the Global Fund, and Unitaid.
• 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.
• 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.

Other Areas of Cooperation between India and France:

• Defence Cooperation:
  • The three services of both countries have regular defence exercises; viz.
    • Exercise Shakti (Army)
    • Exercise Varuna (Navy)
    • Exercise Garuda (Air Force)
  • India entered into a contract with a French firm to build six Scorpene submarines in India’s Malegaon dockyards through a technology-transfer arrangement in 2005.
  • Also, India and France had signed the inter-government agreement in 2016, under which France agreed to provide  36 Rafale fighter jets at a cost of around 60,000 crore rupees to India.
• Other Initiatives:
  • India and France are in joint efforts to limit climate change and develop the International Solar Alliance.
  • France has agreed to be part of India’s Venus mission, scheduled for 2025.
    • Also, ISRO’s Venus instrument,  VIRAL (Venus Infrared Atmospheric Gases Linker) has been co-developed by French and Russian agencies.

Other Areas of Cooperation between India and UAE:

• Collaboration:They both are the members of    I2U2 Grouping.
• Economic Partnership:In 2022 India & UAE signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with an aim of taking bilateral trade to USD 100 billion within 5 years.
  • Also, India and UAE are discussing ways to boost non-oil commerce in rupees that will promote internationalisation of rupees.
  • UAE is the second largest export destination of India (after the US)with an amount of over US$ 28 billion for the year 2021-22.
    • For the UAE, India is the second largest trading partner for the year 2021with an amount of around USD 45 billion (non-oil trade).
  • Defence Cooperation:With the spread of radicalism in the Gulf and South Asia, India looks to enhance security cooperation with the UAE to counter terrorist threats and combat radicalization.
    • ‘Desert Eagle II’,  is a joint air combat exercise, between air forces of India and UAE.