New Delhi, June 15 (IANS) India’s vision of ‘Viksit Bharat 2047’ and France’s ambition under ‘France 2030’ provide strong convergences for building a future-oriented innovation partnership, paving the way for new investment opportunities in disruptive innovations, the government said on Monday.

India and France are, therefore, adopting the India-France Innovation Roadmap 2030 as a framework to guide their collaborative efforts towards advancing co-development in critical and emerging technologies, strengthening trusted technology ecosystems, deepening academic and research mobility, and delivering concrete outcomes for people, the planet and shared prosperity.

India and France recognise innovation as a central driver of economic resilience, sustainable development, strategic autonomy, and technological and industrial sovereignty.

Both sides agree that a strengthened innovation partnership will help unlock the full innovation potential of the two countries and contribute to solutions for global challenges, according to an official statement.

Building on the India–France Declaration on Artificial Intelligence of February 2025 and the AI Action and Impact Summits hosted by France and India in 2025 and 2026 respectively, both countries agree to make ‘trusted AI’ a central pillar of their innovation partnership, the statement added.

Moreover, both sides will work together to promote safe, secure and trustworthy AI systems that are aligned with democratic values and human rights, prevent discrimination and the dissemination of misinformation, and support the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

They will encourage cooperation between regulators, standards bodies, and technical experts to advance interoperable, risk-based approaches to AI governance, including for frontier and generative models, while ensuring that innovation and national development are not stifled.

Recognising the acute risks that AI-enabled services pose to vulnerable sections particularly children in the digital environment, India and France agree to deepen their cooperation on child safety online as a priority of their AI partnership.

Notably, India and France recognise the centrality of privacy-preserving data sharing frameworks to unlock the full potential of AI and data-driven innovation while safeguarding fundamental rights.

In accordance with the shared objectives under the Horizon 2047 framework, both sides recognise that investment in STEM education, research partnerships, mobility of talent, and institutional collaboration will play a critical role in preparing future generations to address global challenges.

“In this regard, both sides acknowledge the importance of France’s objective of welcoming 30,000 Indian students by 2030 and reaffirm their commitment to strengthening people-to-people ties as a foundation of the bilateral partnership,” said the statement.

Further, several institutions from India and France have agreed to collaborate on academic mobility through student exchanges and research collaboration.

Acknowledging the vital role of small and medium enterprises in driving innovation, employment and inclusive economic growth, both sides intend to explore ways for further interactions between SME ecosystems.

—IANS

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