India, France and UAE Expand Trilateral Cooperation Across AI, Space, Energy and Health Sciences

India, France and the United Arab Emirates have agreed to deepen their trilateral partnership across artificial intelligence, space, health sciences, energy, culture and heritage, while also exchanging views on the evolving situation in West Asia.

External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar, French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noël Barrot and UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan met in New York on the sidelines of the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly. The meeting continued a trilateral framework that has gradually developed into a platform connecting the three countries’ technological, economic and strategic capabilities.

According to the Ministry of External Affairs, the ministers reviewed progress across the areas already identified for trilateral cooperation and agreed that the partnership should be strengthened through further concrete initiatives.

Artificial Intelligence and Space Move Up the Agenda

Artificial intelligence and space emerged as prominent areas of discussion during the New York meeting. The three countries have complementary capabilities in both sectors, creating opportunities for cooperation that extends beyond conventional diplomatic coordination.

India has developed a large digital and space ecosystem encompassing public digital infrastructure, satellite applications, launch services and an expanding private space industry. France possesses advanced aerospace and satellite capabilities and has maintained one of India’s longest-running international space partnerships. The UAE, meanwhile, has invested substantially in artificial intelligence, advanced technology and its rapidly developing national space programme.

The ministers reviewed the progress already achieved in trilateral cooperation involving space and artificial intelligence and discussed ways of taking these engagements further.

Jaishankar said following the meeting that collaboration in artificial intelligence, space, health sciences, energy and culture formed the principal focus of the discussions. He said the three countries’ shared interests and complementary capabilities provide considerable scope for expanding cooperation.

Health Sciences and Energy Join the Cooperation Framework

The latest meeting also highlighted health sciences and energy, broadening the practical areas being pursued under the trilateral framework.

Energy has particular relevance because the three countries occupy very different but complementary positions in the global energy system. The UAE is a major energy producer and investor, France possesses significant nuclear and advanced energy capabilities, while India is one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing energy markets.

Health sciences similarly provide scope for cooperation involving research, innovation, pharmaceutical capabilities and healthcare technologies. The inclusion of these sectors reflects an effort to move the trilateral mechanism towards projects where the capabilities of the three countries can be combined.

West Asia Situation Discussed in New York

The three foreign ministers also discussed the situation in West Asia.

The region has direct strategic and economic importance for all three countries. India maintains extensive economic, energy and people-to-people links across West Asia, while the UAE is itself a major regional diplomatic and economic actor. France also maintains substantial political, security and economic engagement across the region.

The Ministry of External Affairs did not announce a new joint initiative on West Asia following the meeting. The discussion nevertheless placed regional developments alongside the longer-term cooperation agenda involving technology, energy and culture.

A Trilateral Partnership Formally Launched in 2023

The India-France-UAE trilateral is not a new arrangement created at the latest UN General Assembly meeting. Its present institutional framework emerged from discussions between the three countries during 2022 and was formally launched at the foreign ministers’ level in February 2023.

The three sides subsequently established a cooperation roadmap covering areas including energy, climate and environment, technological innovation, defence cooperation, food security, health and cultural exchanges.

The framework is notable because each country brings different strengths to the partnership. India contributes a large technology and industrial base, scientific capabilities and access to one of the world’s largest emerging markets. France contributes advanced technology, aerospace, defence and energy capabilities, while the UAE brings investment capacity, energy expertise, logistics infrastructure and a major commercial position connecting Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Europe.

Rather than creating another broad diplomatic grouping, the trilateral mechanism has increasingly concentrated on areas where these complementary strengths can support practical cooperation.

Space Cooperation Has Strong Foundations

Space represents one of the most natural areas for the three countries to develop joint initiatives.

India and France already possess a mature bilateral space partnership extending over several decades. ISRO and the French space agency CNES have cooperated in satellite missions, Earth observation, climate monitoring and other space applications.

The UAE has simultaneously built an increasingly ambitious space programme, including planetary exploration, Earth observation and astronaut missions. Its growing investment in space science and commercial technologies creates opportunities for cooperation with both India and France.

A trilateral approach could therefore complement the existing bilateral relationships by connecting scientific institutions, government agencies and commercial space companies across the three countries.

Culture and Heritage Remain Part of the Partnership

The ministers also reviewed cooperation in culture and heritage, maintaining an important non-technological component of the trilateral framework.

Cultural cooperation has been part of the mechanism since its formal establishment, alongside education and people-to-people engagement. The UAE’s position as a major cultural and commercial centre in West Asia, France’s extensive cultural institutions and India’s civilisational heritage provide a broad foundation for collaborative programmes.

The continuation of culture and heritage alongside emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence demonstrates that the trilateral mechanism is being developed across both strategic and societal areas.

Three Countries Agree to Maintain Regular Engagement

India, France and the UAE reaffirmed their intention to strengthen their relationship through concrete initiatives rather than limiting the mechanism to periodic diplomatic consultations.

The ministers agreed to continue meeting at regular intervals to assess progress across the different areas of cooperation. Jaishankar also indicated after the New York meeting that the three sides intend to meet again soon to take the discussions forward.

The latest meeting therefore represents another stage in the gradual institutionalisation of the India-France-UAE trilateral. Artificial intelligence, space, health sciences, energy and culture now provide multiple avenues through which the three countries can convert their diplomatic alignment into practical programmes.

The combination is unusual but increasingly relevant: India provides scale and technological capacity, France brings advanced industrial and scientific capabilities, and the UAE offers investment strength and a strategic position connecting major global markets. The New York discussions indicate that all three governments intend to continue developing those complementary capabilities through a more structured trilateral partnership.

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References

Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India — Statement on the India-France-UAE Trilateral Ministerial Meeting, New York, September 2026.

Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India — India-UAE Bilateral Relations Brief, 2026.

Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India — India-France Bilateral Relations Brief, 2026.

Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India — Joint Statement on the Formal Launch of the India-France-UAE Trilateral Cooperation Initiative, 4 February 2023.

External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar — Official statement following the India-UAE-France trilateral meeting on the sidelines of UNGA81, September 2026.

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