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France for stronger ties with India

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner begins a three-day visit to India today, during which he is scheduled to hold talks with External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee in New Delhi. He is also expected to call on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress leader Sonia Gandhi before going to Kolkata.

Considered to be something of a maverick in his country, Mr. Kouchner does not quite fit into the usual mould of the French politician. Famous for his humanitarian work — he was one of the founders of the medical NGO Medcins sans frontiers (Doctors without Borders) which has done sterling work in war zones and disaster-hit areas across the globe — Dr. Kouchner is also known as the father of the doctrine of “humanitarian intervention.” He argues that the international community has both the right and the duty to intervene against dictatorships in countries where human rights are being systematically trampled. He has twice served as Health Minister and was for a time the United Nations’ Special Representative in Kosovo.

But he is also a controversial figure — partly because of his partial support to the war in Iraq (he wanted Saddam Hussein ousted) but also because of his decision, despite being a Socialist, to join the Right-wing government of President Nicolas Sarkozy. His detractors say he tends to forget his convictions in favour of realpolitik as in the case of the recent five-day state visit to France by Libyan leader Moammer Qadhaffi, or over Myanmar, where he would like the world to harden its attitude towards the generals but wants the French energy giant Total to continue to remain in business. (Total paid out 5.2 million euros in compensation to persons forced to work on its site).

The French Minister’s trip to India comes at a difficult time when the Indian Defence Ministry has announced the scrapping of a contract to buy 197 Fennec military helicopters from Eurocopter, a subsidiary of EADS, the Franco-German conglomerate in which the French government has a stake. Mr. Kouchner will be holding talks to prepare President Sarkozy’s visit to India next month as the guest of honour at the 2008 Republic Day celebrations. Mr. Sarkozy has made economic contracts a major component of his foreign visits and there will be little of that to place on the table this time. The cancellation of the lucrative $600 million deal comes at a particularly delicate moment since the final signing was supposed to be one of the highlights of the presidential visit.

France is keen on signing an agreement similar to the 123 agreement between India and the U.S. The French sent New Delhi a draft agreement which has remained without a response for understandable political reasons. It is unlikely that a deal for nuclear reactors from Areva will be announced (although discussions there are said to have progressed considerably), and even if the Indian Navy is keen on buying more Scorpene submarines for its eastern seas (a top level French military team led by the chief of naval staff Admiral Alain Oudot de Dainville has just left the country), negotiations are at too early a stage for a speedy announcement.

As far as the helicopters are concerned, EADS, the parent company of Eurocopter, on Monday lodged a formal protest with the Indian government and officials said the company had challenged “the very grounds of the cancellation of the deal.” But now, in a final twist, the Eurocopter chief said he had received no official notification of the cancellation. The dominating sentiment in Paris is one of bafflement at the sudden decision to cancel. That Paris is miffed is evident from the fact that the President’s office summoned India’s ambassador Ranjan Mathai for an explanation. A call also went out from the Elysee Palace to India’s National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan.

In a written reply to questions sent in by The Hindu, Mr. Kouchner said: “…competitive tenders and rigorous evaluation trials concluded that Eurocopter’s Fennec is the only helicopter capable of meeting all the needs of the Indian Army for replacement of its light helicopters. We therefore attach great importance to the concretisation of this programme, which is also a test of our capacity to take our strategic partnership forward to a new stage. This issue will naturally be addressed with the Indian authorities during my visit and of course, if necessary, during that of the President of the French Republic at the end of January.”

India and France continue to have excellent political ties although both countries are distant blips on each other’s radar screens. But the feeling in France is that more needs to be done to jog the relationship out of its mundane complacency. India should state its opinions more clearly and firmly if it is to make its voice heard, it is felt. Mr. Kouchner told The Hindu: “The highly important economic aspect is part and parcel of a broader relationship. Our ambition, and I would like to think it is shared, is to develop a general relationship with India in two key areas: firstly, stronger cooperation in key areas for the future: academic exchanges, scientific and technical cooperation in high technology, and industrial cooperation through the development of direct investment; and secondly, development of concertation with India on global issues that require a collective response: the combat against global warming and emerging diseases, and world economic and financial regulation.” In view of this, Mr. Sarkozy’s proposal to enlarge the G-8 to G-13 that would include countries such as India, China, Brazil, South Africa and others is of great interest to New Delhi.

Although the economic potential between the two countries is far from being realised, trade has been growing steadily. French companies rank 11th in the list of countries in terms of cumulative foreign direct investment (FDI) and France now ranks 8th with cumulative FDI inflows at $0.90 billion. However, the Indo-French forum made up of business and cultural personalities from both sides has become an unproductive talk shop and there is a proposal to replace it with an endowed foundation which would have active financial support from business groups and the two governments.

France has been precious to India because it showed “understanding” towards India’s decision to go openly nuclear. Its support for India’s bid for a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council was also greatly appreciated. French help in talks within the Nuclear Suppliers Group will be vital. Mr. Kouchner told The Hindu: “India knows that it can count on France’s support in seeking changes to the rules governing exports of nuclear goods within the NSG. While not wishing to claim any special merit, I should like to remind you of France’s “pioneering” role on this topic … We must go further in this area. We hope to sign with India in the near future a bilateral agreement on civilian nuclear cooperation to further the development of our relations in this field, including the nuclear production of electricity … I would like the President of the Republic’s visit next January to provide the opportunity for agreement on a text.”

While overall relations are excellent, differences of view over issues such as Iran or Myanmar could occasionally cloud the skies. Mr. Kouchner is ferociously opposed to Iran obtaining nuclear weapons. He sees Iran as a threat despite the recent report of the U.S. National Intelligence Estimate. “Iran is continuing its efforts to master the technology for enrichment. Iran is not in compliance with its international obligations and the Iranian nuclear threat still exists. Our position therefore remains unchanged and, since Iran is not complying with its international obligations, we shall continue, along with our partners, to examine further binding measures within the framework of the United Nations.”

In this context, India’s decision to re-engage with Tehran and Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon’s reported remarks earlier this week describing Iran as a “factor of stability and security” in the region will not be particularly to Mr. Kouchner’s taste. Paris is also of the opinion that India’s attitude to Myanmar has been too soft. The Minister is expected to press New Delhi to take a tougher stand, even join in the chorus for sanctions against the regime. Then again, Paris has not decided to stop arms sales to Pakistan as the Minister clarified: “Our priority [for Pakistan] as we have already indicated, must be to encourage the holding of general elections in conditions that are transparent and democratic. It is only in such a context that a solution for legitimate government can emerge and assist the democratisation of that country. Our relations with Pakistan are conducted in that spirit: and this is also true where arms are concerned. We have not decided to place any embargo on sales of arms to Pakistan, and to my knowledge none of our partners in the European Union has done so.”

Immigration and the free movement of people remain an important issue for India. New Delhi cannot see the further hardening of immigration laws in France with a benign eye. Asked about his publicly expressed distaste for a law that allows the use of DNA testing for reasons other than the strictly medical or forensic (for family reunion and long-term visas) Mr. Kouchner said: “I have indicated that I was not pleased at this and that I did not consider it to be a good method of solving the problems posed by immigration. I do however note that the tests are not compulsory and that they are to be carried out on a voluntary basis by applicants for family regrouping. I also note that the Constitutional Council wished to see the proposal supplemented with additional safeguards.”

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