"Relation between India, France is exceptional": French Ambassador to India Thierry Mathou

Mathou emphasised that the core of the India-France relationship lies in security and defence, noting the partnership's significance as both countries celebrated the 25th anniversary of their partnership last year. He stressed the importance of enhancing people-to-people exchange and culture, identifying them as top priorities for future cooperation.

"The relation between India and France is exceptional. Last year, we celebrated the 25th anniversary of our partnership. The core of our relation is security and defence. The challenge is to put more flesh on the bones of the rest, and the rest is people-to-people exchange and culture as a top priority," he added.

While speaking on the Kerala Literature Festival 2025, the French ambassador said that a delegation of 50 novelists and 8 publishers from France will visit Kerala for a few days for the occasion and stated that the event would not only facilitate cultural exchange but also focus on concrete work in translation.

"We are looking for a unique opportunity to create new bridges between Kerala and France... We will have a huge delegation of 50 novelists coming from France, and 8 publishers will specifically come and stay for a few days... This is not only an opportunity to exchange but also to work concretely on translation...It's key for us to create bridges between our languages and our cultures," he said.

India and France have traditionally enjoyed close and friendly relations and share a deep and enduring strategic partnership covering all aspects of bilateral cooperation that involve a strategic component. Launched on 26 January 1998, India's first-ever strategic partnership embodied the core vision of both countries to enhance their respective strategic independence by drawing upon strong and enhanced bilateral cooperation. Defence and security, civil nuclear matters, and space constitute the principal pillars of this strategic cooperation and now include a strong Indo-Pacific component. In recent years the partnership has broadened to include maritime security, digitalisation, cybersecurity and advanced computing, counterterrorism, climate change, renewable and sustainable growth, and development, among others. (ANI)