country to receive such an honour.
3. The visit takes place nine months after Prime Minister Modi's successful visit to France in April 2015. It
builds on the close interactions between the two leaders at the G20 meeting in November 2014 in
Brisbane, the UN General Assembly in September 2015 and at the COP 21 in November 2015 in Paris
and underscores their shared commitment to intensifying and strengthening the close and longstanding
strategic partnership between India and France.
I. Strategic Partnership
4. India and France share foundational values of individual liberty, human rights, rule of law and value
their independence and strategic autonomy. As Strategic Partners, the two countries share converging
views on key regional and global issues and continue to consult each other closely on strategic and
security matters of mutual interest.
5. India and France reiterate the need for urgent reform of the United Nations, including its Security
Council, through an expansion in both categories of membership, to make it more representative of the
contemporary world. France reaffirmed its support for India’s candidature for a permanent membership of
the UN Security Council. The two countries welcomed the forward movement on the issue of United
Nations reforms to the stage of text-based negotiations and the important role played by France in this
process. The two Leaders welcomed the constructive discussions at the recent bilateral consultations on
UN issues on 22 January 2016 and welcomed the convergence of views on major regional & international
issues.
6. France and India share common concerns and objectives in the field of non-proliferation of weapons of
mass destruction. In order to strengthen global non-proliferation and export control regimes, France and
India committed to continue to work jointly towards India's accession to the multilateral export control
regimes, namely, the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR),
the Australia Group, and the Wassenaar Arrangement. France reaffirmed its strong and active support to
building consensus among regimes’ members on this issue, recognizing that India’s accession will add
value to the aims and objectives of these regimes. India and France underscored their determination to
achieve the accession of India to the NSG in 2016. France and India underlined their support for
negotiations on the Fissile Material Cut-Off Treaty (FMCT) on the basis of the Shannon mandate, which
remains an essential foundation for progress on the issue in the Conference on Disarmament.
Security
7. India and France reiterated their commitment to counter terrorism and welcomed the separate joint
statement on Counter-terrorism cooperation issued by the two sides.
8. The President of France and the Prime Minister of India agreed to intensify cooperation between the
Indian and French security forces in the fields of homeland security, cyber security, Special Forces and
intelligence-sharing to fight against criminal networks and tackle the common threat of terrorism. They
looked forward to early conclusion of an Agreement on Prevention of Consumption of Illicit Drugs &
Psychotropic Substances between the two countries and expressed hope that cooperation in this field will
also lead to the disruption of terrorist financing structures.
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