India is close to buying new French warplanes and submarines and played a starring role in France's Bastille Day celebrations Friday. But for all the camaraderie on display this week between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron, their two countries remain sometimes-awkward allies.
Macron skirted around concerns about threats to rights and freedoms under Modi's Hindu nationalist government.
During a two-day visit that included a banquet at the Louvre, Indian troops marching down the Champs-Elysees and a high-octane speech by Modi to Indians from around Europe, the two countries released a raft of agreements tightening cooperation in areas where they agree. "Cooperation in defense is the basic pillar of our relationship," Modi said ahead of meetings with Macron. "Be it a submarine or a navy ship, we want to work jointly not only for ourselves but other friendly nations too."Macron is keen on tightening alliances in the Indo-Pacific against an increasingly assertive China, and his office unveiled a `'roadmap" with India for cooperation in the region.
Modi said India also wants to increase cooperation with France in space, after India launched a spacecraft toward the far side of the moon Friday. France houses the European Space Agency's main launch site, in French Guiana.
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