India signs 14 MoUs with France

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron have signed 14 memorandum of understandings (MoUs) today.nnFrench President Emmanuel Macron arrived in New Delhi on a four-day India visit and was received at the airport by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a special gesture. He was given a ceremonial welcome on Saturday morning.nnMacron was accompanied by his wife Brigitte Marie-Claude Macron, besides senior ministers from his Cabinet.nnOn March 11, President Macron will attend the International Solar Alliance (ISA) Summit, an initiative mooted by France and India. The ISA Summit, expected to be attended by several heads of the states and governments, is likely to focus on concrete projects. On the same day, he will also visit Taj Mahal in Agra.nnPresident will also visit Varanasi, the parliamentary constituency of Prime Minister Modi, on March 12. He, along with Modi, will inaugurate a solar plant in Uttar Pradesh?s Mirzapur.nnHere List of MoUsn

S. No.	MoU/Agreement	Indian side	French side	Purpose
1.	Agreement between India and France on the Prevention of Illicit Consumption and Reduction of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs, Psychotropic Substances and Chemical Precursors and Related Offences	Rajnath Singh, Home Minister	Jean-Yves Le Drian,nMinister for Europe and Foreign Affairs	The Agreement shall facilitate the two countries in combating illicit traffic and consumption of drugs and will also impact on financing of terrorism.
2.	India-France Migration and Mobility Partnership Agreement	Sushma Swaraj, External Affairs Minister	Jean-Yves Le Drian,nMinister for Europe and Foreign Affairs	This agreement will facilitate temporary circular migration based on mobility and the encouragement for a return of skills to the home country.
3.	Agreement between India and France to facilitate Mutual Recognition of Academic Qualifications	Prakash Javadekar, Minister of Human Resource Development	Frederique Vidal,nMinister of Higher Education, Research and Innovation	The purpose of this Arrangement is to facilitate the mutual recognition of educational qualifications.
4.	Memorandum of Understanding between Ministry of Railways and SNCF Motilities, France on technical cooperation in the field of Railways.	Piyush Goyal, Minister for Railways	Jean-Yves Le Drian,nMinister for Europe and Foreign Affairs	The purpose of this MoU is to build upon and deepen the mutual cooperation and focus on priority areas of high speed and semi-high speed rail; station renovation modernisation of current operations and infrastructure; and suburban trains.
5.	Letter of Intent between India and France for creation of a permanent Indo-French Railways Forum.	Piyush Goyal, Minister for Railways	Jean-Yves Le Drian,nMinister for Europe and Foreign Affairs	The purpose of this Letter of Intent is to enhance the already existing cooperation by creating an Indo-French Permanent Railway Forum.
6.	Agreement between India and France regarding the provision of reciprocal logistics support between their Armed Forces	Nirmala Sitharaman, Defence Minister	Florence Parly, Minister for the Armed Forces	This Agreement shall facilitate the reciprocal provision of Logistic Support, Supplies and Services between the Armed Forces of the two countries during authorised port visits, joint exercises, joint training, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief efforts etc.
7.	Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and France on cooperation in the field of Environment	Dr. Mahesh SharmanMinister of State fornEnvironment, Forest and Climate Change	Brune Poirson,nMinister of State, attached to the Minister for the Ecological and Inclusive Transition	The MoU aims to establish a basis for exchange of information between the Governments and technical experts of the two countries in the field of environment and climate change.
8.	Agreement between India and France on cooperation in the field of Sustainable Urban Development	Shri Hardeep Singh Puri,nMinister of State (IC) of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs	Mrs. Brune Poirson,nMinister of State, attached to the Minister for the Ecological and Inclusive Transition	The Agreement will allow exchange of information on smart city development, development of urban mass transportation systems, urban settlements and utilities etc
9.	Agreement between India and France regarding the exchange and reciprocal protection of classified or protected information	Ajit Doval,nNSA	Philippe Etienne, Diplomatic Adviser to the French Presidentnn nn	This Agreement defines the common security regulations applicable to any exchange of classified and protected information
10.	Implementing Arrangement between Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Central National D?EtudesSpatiales (CNES) for pre-formulation studies of a Maritime Awareness Mission	K. Sivan, Secretary, Department of Space & Chairman ISRO	Jean-Yves Le Gall, President CNES	The Agreement would provide end-to-end solution for detection, identification and monitoring of vessels in the regions of interest for France and India.
11.	Industrial Way Forward Agreement between Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd, and EDF, France	Sekhar Basu, Secretary, Department of Atomic Energy	Jean Bernard Levy, CEO, EDF	This agreement prescribes a way forward for the implementation of the Jaitapur nuclear power project.
12.	Bilateral Arrangement between India and France on cooperation in the matter of Hydrography and Maritime Cartography	Vinay Kwatra,nAmbassador of India	Alexander Ziegler,nAmbassador of France	This Arrangement will encourage cooperation between the two countries in the field of hydrography, nautical documentation and maritime safety information.
13.	Credit Facility Agreement between India and France of Euros 100 million for funding of the Smart City Projects through a Challenge Process	Vinay Kwatra,nAmbassador of India	Alexander Ziegler,nAmbassador of France	This agreement will help fill the funding gap under the Smart City Mission and the funds provided by the Central and State Governments for the purpose.
14.	Memorandum of Understanding between National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE), Ministry of New & Renewable Energy and the National Solar Energy Institute (INES), France	Vinay Kwatra,nAmbassador of India	Daniel Verwaerde,nAdministrator,nThe Commission for Atomic and Alternate Energy (CEA)	With this agreement both countries shall work on projects in ISA member countries in the areas of solar energy (solar photovoltaic, storage technologies, etc.) through transfer of technology and collaborative activities.