President Macron says effusive thanks to ‘dear friend’ PM Modi after phone call

New Delhi/Paris, Sep 22 (UNI) French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday said an effusive thank you to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the phone conversation, during which the two leaders discussed the situation in Afghanistan and closer cooperation in the Indo-Pacific. The growing warmth in relations between the two sides comes as France has taken umbrage over the cancellation of a $66 billion submarine deal by Canberra in favour of a new deal with the US, Australia, and UK.

Macron tweeted in Hindi: “Namastey dear colleague, my dear friend.”

He thanked PM Modi for reaffirming the importance of the bilateral strategic partnership and said India and France are strongly committed to making the Indo-Pacific an area of cooperation and shared values.

“नमस्ते, प्रिय साथी, प्रिय मित्र।“

“Thank you for reaffirming the importance of our Strategic Partnership. India and France are strongly committed to making the Indo-Pacific an area of cooperation and shared values. We will continue to build on this,” Macron tweeted.

Earlier, Prime Minister Modi tweeted that he had spoken with “my friend” President Macron and said that India places great value on its strategic partnership with France, including in the UN Security Council.”

“Spoke with my friend President @EmmanuelMacron on the situation in Afghanistan. We also discussed closer collaboration between India and France in the Indo-Pacific. We place great value on our Strategic Partnership with France, including in the UNSC.” PM Modi posted.

Relations between France and the US and Australia have nosedived after the latter two countries alongwith the UK announced a new trilateral security partnership ‘AUKUS’, and as a first step announced a deal to help Canberra acquire a fleet of eight nuclear-powered submarines.

On Thursday, Australia said it would scrap the $66 billion deal signed in 2016 with France’s Naval Group to build a fleet of conventional submarines.
In reaction, French President Emmanuel Macron recalled his ambassadors from Washington and Canberra.
France has termed cancellation of the submarine deal as “unacceptable behaviour among allies and partners”.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian has called the move as a breach of trust and said he was “angry and bitter”.
“It’s a stab in the back. We created a relationship of trust with Australia and that trust has been broken,” Le Drian said. Le Drian spoke with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday.
An official statement of the talk between Prime Minister Modi and President Macron, said later that the two leaders discussed regional issues including the recent developments in Afghanistan.
“In this context, they shared their concerns about possible spread of terrorism, narcotics, illicit weapons and human trafficking, as well as the need to ensure human rights, rights of women and minorities.
“They reviewed the increasing bilateral collaboration in the Indo-Pacific region, and the important role that the India-France partnership plays in promoting stability and security in the region.”
“The leaders agreed to maintain close and regular consultations, in the spirit of the India-France Strategic Partnership, which both countries cherish deeply,” it said.