French envoy hails PM Modi-Macron bond as ‘key asset’ in troubled times

French Ambassador to India, Thierry Mathou, praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Emmanuel Macron’s relationship, calling it a “key asset” in today’s challenging times.

The Ambassador emphasised the importance of personal relationships in international diplomacy, stating that they help reduce fragmentation and foster understanding between nations .

French envoy Thierry Mathou told ANI, “Personal relations are essential to understand each other and to reduce fragmentation of our world. Prime Minister Modi and President Macron’s relationship, and beyond that, our strategic partnership, are key assets in these troubled times.”

During the 79th United Nations General Assembly, President Macron voiced support for India’s permanent membership in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). Macron highlighted the need for reform within the UN, stressing that making the organisation more representative is crucial for its effectiveness.

When asked about French President’s support for India’s permanent membership in the UNSC, Mathou stated, “The President recalled in New York our complete support to G4’s request, including India’s, to get a permanent seat in the UNSC. We need to make our international institutions more efficient, which means also more representative.”

Mathou further emphasised, “We are willing to move forward on that point, as well as on the prohibition to use a veto when massive atrocities are committed, with all the current permanent members of the UNSC.”

Highlighting the need for comprehensive reforms, Mathou said, “We also need to build up an agenda that allows us to deal with climate change, biodiversity, and global health issues, as well as reduce inequalities. Hence, the UNSC is not the only institution that we need to reform.”

He quoted Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and stated, “As Minister Jaishankar said, we also need, for instance, to overhaul our global financial institutions such as the World Bank or the IMF. We need to renew their composition and their financial structure to give them more means and more legitimacy to address global challenges.”

Mathou cautioned, “If we don’t do it and these institutions do not meet the requirements of countries, they will be circumvented and, again, we will collectively regret it.”

France is committed to developing collective solutions and reducing fragmentation. To achieve this, Mathou outlined France’s upcoming international engagements, which includes Francophonie summit this week, the AI summit in February and a United Nations Conference on Ocean in June 2025

“We will host the Francophonie summit this week, with a strong focus on the development of multilinguism and the preservation of cultural diversity, In February, we will host the AI summit with the objective of reducing digital inequalities and fostering innovation,” the French envoy said.

“In June 2025, we will host the United Nations Conference on Ocean, to consolidate the success of the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction–we welcome its recent signature by India,” he added.