France, India, UAE announce trilateral cooperation initiative

Feb. 4 (UPI) -- France, India and the United Arab Emirates on Saturday announced a trilateral cooperation initiative to work together on various issues, including energy and combatting climate change.

The agreement was announced after a phone call between Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Minister of Foreign Affairs for the UAE, French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Catherine Colonna and Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, India's external affairs minister.

"During this call, the three sides agreed that the trilateral initiative will serve as a forum to promote the design and execution of cooperation projects in the fields of energy, with a focus on solar and nuclear energy, as well as in the fight against climate change and the protection of biodiversity, particularly in the Indian Ocean region," the French government said in a statement.

Specifically, the countries will focus on the issues of single-use plastic pollution, desertification and food security within the context of the International Year of Millets 2023.

"Discussed convergences and further collaboration in education, business, maritime, culture and green energy for a stable peaceful and prosperous Indo-Pacific," Jaishankar said in a tweet.

The trilateral group will also cooperate on technology transfer and entrepreneurship, the parties said.