Shringla meets French diplomat, discusses Indo-Pacific, defence partnership and security cooperation

Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla on Friday held a "productive meeting" with Alice Guitton, France's Director-General of International Relations and Strategy (DGRIS), during which they discussed Indo-Pacific region and maritime security, defence partnership and regional security cooperation.

Shringla is in France on the first leg of his week-long three-nation Europe tour. From France, he will travel to Germany and the UK.

"Foreign Secretary @harshvshringla had a productive meeting with Ms. Alice Guitton, Director General, DGRIS with discussions on Indo-Pacific region & maritime security, defence partnership & regional security cooperation,” the Indian Embassy in France tweeted.

On Thursday, Shringla delivered an address at the Institut Français des Relations Internationales wherein he said the immediate challenges have not been able to distract India from broader strategic goals, especially in the Indo-Pacific Region where it is moving purposefully at multiple levels to create an "open, inclusive architecture".

Shringla's visit to France came as the country grapples with another terror attack.

Three people have died in a knife attack at a church in Nice on Thursday which was described by French President Emmanuel Macron as an "Islamist terrorist attack".

About the threats of terrorism and radicalism, Shringla in his address said that radical ideology espouses violence and separatism, very often fanned and supported by foreign influence, adding such forces seek to destabilise pluralist societies.

"It was horrifying to hear about the two recent terrorist incidents in France, one of which, as is very often the case, had its origins in our western neighbourhood -- Pakistan," he said.

"For the past three decades, we have experienced what unbridled radicalism can wreak and what malevolent violent forces it can unleash. The civilised world needs to act together and act with firmness to address this threat to our cherished democratic value systems," he added.