India and France co-chair India-France Economic & Financial Dialogue (EFD) in Aix-en-Provence

📌 Summary:

• Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and French Minister Roland Lescure co-chaired the India-France Economic & Financial Dialogue (EFD) at Aix-en-Provence
• Dialogue held within the special global strategic partnership; committed during President Macron's Feb 2026 India visit
• Focus areas: cooperation on critical minerals; economic sovereignty and security policy; increasing cross-investments; high-speed railway opportunities
• Sought alignment of India-France positions in multilateral platforms (G20, Paris Club), linked to India's association with the French G7 presidency
• Both sides valued French Development Agency (AFD) projects in India; agreed to hold next EFD in 2027

🎯 UPSC Relevance: GS2 IR — bilateral economic diplomacy, critical minerals security, multilateral coordination (G20/Paris Club).

📝 Prelims Facts:

• EFD is the main bilateral platform for India-France economic, financial, tech, investment and trade matters
• Paris Club is an informal group of creditor nations addressing debtor-country payment difficulties
• AFD = Agence Française de Développement (French Development Agency)

🔑 Key Term: Economic sovereignty — a state's capacity to secure critical inputs (e.g., critical minerals) and reduce strategic dependence.