Indo-Pacific – Trilateral dialogue between France, India and Australia – First focal points meeting (24 February 2021)

On 24 February 2021, France, India and Australia held a first focal points meeting in their trilateral dialogue.

The meeting was co-chaired by the Asia and Oceania Director, Mr Bertrand Lortholary, of the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Joint Secretary (Europe West), Mr Sandeep Chakravorty, of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, and First Assistant Secretaries Mr Gary Cowan (North and South Asia Division) and Mr John Geering (Europe and Latin America Division) of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The participants sought to examine, as Indo-Pacific nations, the progress of tangible projects in the region to ensure its security, prosperity and sustainable development. They particularly studied the proposals for new projects made during the first Trilateral Dialogue between senior officials on 9 September 2020.

The participants noted the progress made in the fields of maritime security, humanitarian disaster assistance, the blue economy, marine resources and the environment, as well as multilateralism. They also discussed upcoming steps in their trilateral cooperation.