New Delhi, Mar 5 (PTI) India and France have undertaken a "comprehensive review" of the progress made in various facets of bilateral cooperation including defence, civil nuclear energy and space during the key Foreign Office Consultation held in New Delhi, according to officials.

In addition, the dialogue extended to global and regional affairs, notably on Indo-Pacific, besides key challenges including situation in Gaza and Red Sea and Russia-Ukraine conflict, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement on Tuesday.

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The India-France Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) were held on Monday, co-chaired by Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra and Secretary-General of the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Anne-Marie Descôtes, it said.

"The discussions encompassed key areas of bilateral cooperation including defence, civil nuclear energy, space, cyber and digital, AI, Science and Tech, UNSC reforms and multilateral cooperation, blue economy, institutional dialogue mechanisms, and initiatives fostering people-to-people exchanges and cultural ties.

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"In addition, the dialogue extended to global and regional affairs, notably on Indo-Pacific, climate action, energy transition, health, trilateral and plurilateral forms of cooperation, and key challenges including situation in Gaza and Red Sea and Russia-Ukraine conflict," the statement said.

During the meeting, both sides undertook a comprehensive review of the progress made in various facets of bilateral cooperation, as outlined in the ambitious India France Horizon 2047 Roadmap, adopted during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's historic visit to France as a Guest of Honour at the French National Day on July 14 last year, the MEA said.

The FOC was preceded by the second meeting of Strategic Space Dialogue, co-chaired by Kwatra and Descôtes, and India-France 'Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Dialogue', on March 4, officials said.

During the visit, Descôtes also paid a courtesy call on External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, it said.

The FOC is a "pivotal bilateral mechanism that provides cohesiveness to all the existing India-France exchanges. Overall, this meeting provided an opportunity to review actions across multi-faceted ties between India and France, fostering deeper understanding and collaboration on shared priorities and challenges," the statement said.

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