France has proposed a broader maritime security partnership with India that could bring New Delhi into a multinational effort to protect shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, just as Prime Minister Narendra Modi heads into bilateral talks with French President Emmanuel Macron at the G7 Summit. The proposal, floated ahead of the meeting, puts maritime security and West Asia back at the center of the Modi-Macron agenda.
That is why Modi is drawing attention now, even as his travel plans also include Slovakia. The diplomatic focus in France is not just the optics of another summit handshake but the possibility that India could be invited into a security arrangement tied to one of the world’s most strategically important waterways. French officials are also expected to use the talks to discuss defence cooperation, military hardware and the fast-moving situation in West Asia.
France is working with a group of partner nations to keep navigation open in the Strait of Hormuz amid rising regional tensions, and India is expected to be among the countries invited to join the initiative. The plan is being discussed alongside a West Asia-focused meeting on the margins of the summit that is expected to bring together leaders from India, the United States, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. If India signs on, it would mark a notable widening of the partnership Paris is seeking.
The invitation, however, remains the story’s unresolved point. French diplomatic sources in New Delhi said on June 11 that India was expected to be among the countries approached, but they did not say whether Modi’s government had agreed. Sibi George, secretary (West) in the Ministry of External Affairs, said the Modi-Macron meeting would cover all issues of interest, including developments in West Asia, a sign that New Delhi is keeping its options open while the proposal is still on the table.
Modi’s meeting with Macron is now the key moment. France wants broader maritime cooperation; India has not yet said yes. The next answer will come in the talks themselves, when the two leaders decide whether this becomes another conversation about regional security or the start of a new Indian role in the Strait of Hormuz.
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Updated June 12, 2026 at 08:36 am IST.
