India and France recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding on inherited disorders and emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases. The MoU was signed between France Institut Pasteur and CSIR of India. It was signed under the purview of Ministry of Science and Technology.

About the MoU

Under the agreement, the countries signed to work together, identify and develop new mechanisms in cell biology, vaccine development, virology, infectious diseases, human evolutionary genetics studies and computational biology.

Significance

Through the agreement, the countries will provide affordable health care solutions not only for their people but also for the global good. The agreement calls for scientific and technological networking.

Background

In October 2021, on the sidelines of G20 summit, PM Modi and the French President agreed that the countries shared common ambitions in health, environment and innovation. The MoU was signed based on the interaction between the leaders.

Recent developments

• In 2021, India and France launched the Indo – French Year of Environment. The main objective was to increase the strength of cooperation between the countries in making the planet green. This increased the actions towards world environmental protection and also provided greater visibility.
• In 2019, the countries signed four agreements on cyber security and digital technologies.
• In 2018, India and France signed a Memorandum of Understanding in the field of energy conservation. It included cooperation in technical assistance.

India – France

India considers France as its “Goodwill partner”. There are more than one lakh NRIs in France. France was one of the first countries with which India signed the nuclear deal. The cooperation between the countries are growing largely in areas such as science and technology, culture, trade and investment, education. The diplomatic relations was established in 1988. Since then the high level heads have made regular exchanges mainly in the field of nuclear energy, defence and space.