The foreign ministers of the three nations have formally announced a trilateral initiative which will focus on solar and nuclear energy, as well as the fight against climate change and the protection of biodiversity, particularly in the Indian Ocean region.

Ministers bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Jaishankar and Colonna when they met in New York last year (Image: UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs & International Cooperation):

The UAE's Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, France's Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Catherine Colonna and India's Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar agreed to establish a formal trilateral cooperation initiative last September, when they met on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. "It is in this context that a phone call between the three Ministers was held today to adopt a roadmap for the implementation of this initiative," they said on 4 February.

The 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" with the three countries exploring the possibility of working with the Indian Ocean Rim Association "to pursue concrete, actionable projects on clean energy, the environment, and biodiversity".

The initiative will also serve as a platform to expand cooperation between the three countries’ development agencies on sustainable projects. These endeavours will be supported by a range of trilateral events organised in the framework of India's presidency of the G20, which began on 1 December, and the UAE's hosting of the COP28 climate summit which is to take place in Dubai from 30 November.

The agreement also covers cooperation and collaboration in defence, health, technological innovation (including academic R&D) and cultural projects.