Nirmala Sitharaman co-chairs India-France Economic and Financial Dialogue in Aix-en-Provence

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman co-chaired the India-France Economic and Financial Dialogue (EFD) alongside French Minister Roland Lescure in Aix-en-Provence, the Press Information Bureau confirmed. The EFD is a formal bilateral mechanism through which the two countries coordinate on economic policy, investment, trade, and financial sector cooperation.

The dialogue comes at a moment when India and France have been actively strengthening ties across a range of strategic domains. France is one of India's key European partners, with cooperation extending from the Rafale fighter jet deal to civil nuclear energy, space collaboration, and infrastructure financing. The finance-level dialogue adds a dedicated economic layer to what is already a broad partnership.

Minister Lescure's portfolio — spanning economy, finance, industrial policy, energy, and digital sovereignty — aligns closely with several of India's own development priorities, suggesting the talks would have covered areas including clean energy investment, digital infrastructure, and industrial partnership frameworks under the Make in India initiative.

For India, such bilateral dialogues with major European economies carry added weight as the country seeks to diversify its investment and technology partnerships and advance its free trade negotiations with the European Union. The outcome of the Aix-en-Provence meeting is likely to feed into broader India-EU engagement in the months ahead.