New Delhi [India] : Terming France as a “premier partner for India” in Indo Pacific region, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday said New Delhi sees Paris as resident power in the region and the country is indispensable to peace and stability in the region. Speaking at Ambition India Business Forum, Jaishankar said India and France partnership must safeguard “our interest and uphold international law and multilateralism”. He also said that traits — such as values, traits and transparency — define India and France relationship. “In these times values, trust and transparency matter. These traits define India-France relationship. We are also bound with a shared belief in strategic autonomy and a multipolar world underpinned by reformed and effective multilateralism that has produced decades of solidarity most recently during the pandemic and a relationship free from sudden shifts and surprises,” he said. Jaishankar noted that the strategic partnership between two countries has become more relevant in the 21st century for the future of the Indo-Pacific. “For this reason, our strategic partnership has become more relevant in the 21st century both to strengthen multilateralism, which must be the basis for our stable multipolar world and even more for the future of the Indo Pacific region,” he added. Jaishankar called France a “premier partner for India” in Indo-Pacific. “Our partnership must safeguard our interest, protect the commons and uphold international law and multilateralism. But it must also offer better alternatives to countries in the region and enable them to make sovereign and viable choices,” he said.
