french strategy in the indo-pacific
TRANSCRIPT
FRENCH STRATEGY IN THE INDO-PACIFIC“FOR AN INCLUSIVE INDO-PACIFIC”
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CONTENTS
For an Inclusive Indo-Pacific
France: a player in the Indo-PacificPeace and securityThe future of multilateralismA crucial region given global challengesA region of economic opportunity
Indo-Pacific at the heart of global challenges
Deepen France's and the EU's partnerships in the Indo-Pacific
Recommendations
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• Firmly committing to the pro-motion of global public goods, such as the climate, the environment and biodiversity, health, education, digital technology and quality in-frastructure, while supporting grea-ter involvement in the region of the European Union as a player in sus-tainable development and stability, particularly under the framework of its Connecting Europe and Asia strategy.
In this context, France intends to develop tangible projects in the region, at both bilateral and multila-teral levels, based on the three pil-lars of maritime safety, infrastruc-ture, and climate, environment and biodiversity. This endeavour is illustrated by the growing scale of the French-Indian partnership in the Indian Ocean, the continuation of the French-Australian AFIniti initiative and the recently launched French-Japanese partnership for the Indo-Pacific. The Agence Fran-çaise de développement (AFD, French development agency) is also
providing support for ecological and social transitions across Asia, and now increasing its efforts towards helping the Pacific Small Island States to adapt to climate change and preserve biodiversity. Other major programmes include the In-ternational Solar Alliance, launched with India in 2018, and the Pacific Initiative for Adaptation and Bio-diversity adopted with the EU, Australia, Canada and New Zealand during the 2018 One Planet Sum-mit. The 4th One Planet Summit will be held in French Polynesia in 2020. Jean-Yves Le Drian
Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs
FOR AN INCLUSIVE INDO-PACIFIC
A nation of the Indo-Pacific, France has large territory in the re-gion, including 93% of its exclusive economic zone, home to a popula-tion of 1.5 million French citizens. France also maintains a strong military presence of 8000 troops while French trade heavily relies on the 7,000 subsidiary companies and the 150,000 French expa-triates who have settled in the area. As such, France has a growing role to play in this vast region whose stability is crucial for global peace and security, multilateralism, the preservation of global public goods, world economic development and trade, which are all issues with a direct, tangible impact on our country’s interests.
As set out by the President of the Republic in his speech at Garden Island, Sydney, on 2 May 2018, the French Indo-Pacific strategy is a holistic response to regional challenges, for which France has to act as a mediating, inclusive and stabilizing power.
This strategy is based on four main pillars:• Enhancing our country’s involve-ment in the settlement of regional crises, the protection of shipping routes and the fight against terro-rism, radicalization and organized crime;• Strengthening our partnerships with the major regional players with whom we share the same values and interests, such as Australia, India, Indonesia, Japan, New Zealand, Sin-gapore and South Korea, while dee-pening our relationship with China, an essential partner we need to work with, including in a European Union framework, in order to develop coo-peration that takes into account the need for reciprocity;• Increasing our engagement with regional organizations, particularly the ASEAN, most likely to play a central role in the architecture of a multipolar Asia and the emergence of an inclusive Indo-Pacific space, which must exclude no-one and in which no country should impose its hegemony;
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France: a player in the Indo-Pacific
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The Indo-Pacific region accounts for more than half of the global po-pulation and a growing share of world trade and investment, leading to a constantly increasing in-fluence on the interna-tional stage. It is a vast space centred around Asia and Oceania and its two great oceans (Pacific and Indian), the expanses of
which stretch from the coasts of East Africa to the American shores of the Eastern Pacific. This makes it a priority region for France’s foreign policy and soft power strategy.
The region’s balances concern France directly and tangibly in several respects.
PEACE AND SECURITY
The Indo-Pacific is a “French rea-lity”: in addition to the growing presence of our expatriate commu-nities (their numbers have tripled in 20 years in Asia and Oceania to reach around 150,000 people) and our businesses (more than 7,000 subsidiaries of French companies are present in Asia and Oceania, making France the leader in the European Union), the region is home to 1.5 million French citizens resident in French Pacific and In-dian Ocean territorial communities (Mayotte and La Réunion islands, the Scattered Islands, French Sou-thern and Antarctic Territories, New Caledonia, Wallis and Futuna, French Polynesia and Clipperton is-land), as well as 8,000 soldiers ma-king up the French pre-positioned forces in the region. The Indian and Pacific Oceans are home to 93% of the French exclusive economic zone (EEZ). This justifies France’s active involvement in the settlement of regional crises in the Indo-Pacific, in the safety of the main shipping
routes, and in the fight against ter-rorism, radicalization and organized crime.
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Armed Forces in New Caledonia
ALPACI (Admiral commanding
Maritime Forces in the Pacific Ocean)
Armed Forces in French Polynesia
Armed Forces
in the United Arab Emirate
Armed forces in Djibouti
Armed Forces in the South Indian
Ocean Zone
CANADA
UNITED STATES
MEXICO
GUATEMALAEl SALVADOR
NICARAGUA
COSTA RICAPANAMA
HONDURAS
COLOMBIAECUADOR
PERU
CHILE
KENYA
TANZANIE
SOUTH AFRICA
MADAGASCAR
COMOROSSEYCHELLES
MAURITIUS
SRI LANKA
VIETNAM
AUSTRALIA
CHINA
INDIA
BANGLADESH
MYANMAR
THAILAND
MALAYSIABRUNEI
INDONESIA
NEW ZEALAND
FIDJIVANUATU
TUVALU
PAPUA NEW GUINEASINGAPORE
EAST TIMOR
PHILIPPINES
JAPANSOUTH KOREA
NORTHKOREA
DJIBOUTI CAMBODGIA
LAOS
SALOMON
NAURU
PALAOSMICRONESIA
MARSHALL
KIRIBATI
SAMOA
TONGA
MALDIVES
BHUTANNEPALIRAN
PAKISTAN
AFGHANISTAN
MOZAMBIQUE
SOMALIA
OMAN
MONGOLIA
YEMEN
U.A.E.
INDIAN OCEANNew Caledonia
(FRANCE)
TAIWAN
NORTH PACIFIC OCEAN
SOUTH PACIFIC OCEAN
Réunion (FRANCE)
French Polynesia ( FRANCE )
0 1 000 2 000 km
Mean ScaleEmbassy or permanent mission
French exclusive economic zone or continental
FRANZ partnership (assistance coordination during natural disasters
Naval base
Helicopters
Home port of naval shipsFighter aircraft squadron
FRENCH MILITARY PRESENCE
Ministry for Europe and Foreign A�airs, Archives Directorate (Geography Unit) © 7 August 2019
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THE FUTURE OF MULTILATERALISM A CRUCIAL REGION GIVEN GLOBAL CHALLENGES
While the Indo-Pacific remains very economically diverse, it includes six members of the G20 in Asia and Oceania (Australia, China, India, In-donesia, Japan and South Korea), as well as the major Pacific and Indian Ocean nations of Canada, Mexico, South Africa and the United States, reflecting its increasing importance in global governance. In the context of France’s commitment to a rules- and law-based international order, free movement and free trade, as well as to fair and equitable multi-lateralism, the Indo-Pacific is a key region in more than one way. The Chinese Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the Japanese, Australian and Indian strategies focused on the Indo-Pacific, and the regional mul-tilateralism promoted by ASEAN, the central location of which is in many ways crucial, are all develop-ment models and conceptions of international relations that France cannot ignore. They offer many opportunities for France and for the European Union, underpinning mul-
tiple issues which need to be taken into account.
The Indo-Pacific is currently cen-tral to international value chains and global trade flows and as such plays a key role in globalization. Its growing importance in global trade and investment makes the region a key player, influencing the process of defining standards. Given the region’s demographic and economic weight and its energy intensity, it is of key global importance in terms of biodiversity and climate change. This is due to the path of major emerging economies of Asia and the role of the small island States of the Pacific, which are parti-cularly threatened, in generating momentum and fostering mobili-zation. Within this vast space, the Asia and Oceania region remains a beneficiary of international deve-lopment assistance and cooperation policies, but is also increasingly a crucial player with which France should work, including via its over-seas territorial communities. The region’s demographic weight and influence on the international stage
also make it central to improving human rights and the rule of law worldwide, issues where France has particular responsibility and which are a long-term response to the problems of radicalization and inter-nal tensions. The presence in Asia of four countries that are members of the International Organisation of La Francophonie, as well as two obser-vers and an associate member, helps promote the French language and the values relating to multilingua-lism and the preservation of cultural heritage. More generally, the im-portance and outreach of Asian and Oceanian cultures give particular resonance to the issues of cultural diversity and soft diplomacy that France should promote.
A crucial region given global challenges
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CANADA
UNITED STATES
MEXICO
GUATEMALAEL SALVADOR
NICARAGUA
COSTA RICAPANAMA
HONDURAS
COLOMBIAECUADOR
PERU
CHILE
KENYA
TANZANIA
SOUTHAFRICA
MADAGASCAR
COMOROSSEYCHELLES
MAURITIUS
SRI LANKA
VIETNAM
AUSTRALIA
CHINA
INDIA
BANGLADESH
MYANMAR
THAILAND
MALAYSIA
BRUNEI
INDONESIA
NEWZEALAND
FIJIVANUATU
TUVALUPAPUA
NEW GUINEASINGAPORE
EASTTIMOR
PHILIPPINES
JAPANSOUTHKOREA
NORTHKOREA
DJIBOUTI CAMBODIA
LAOS
SOLOMONISLANDS
NAURU
PALAUMICRONESIA
MARSHALLISLANDS
KIRIBATI
SAMOA
TONGA
MALDIVES
BHUTANNEPALIRAN PAKISTAN
MOZAMBIQUE
SOMALIA
OMAN
AFGHANISTAN
YEMEN
UAE
MONGOLIA
Cape Town
JohannesburgPretoria Maputo
Port Louis
AntananarivoMutsamuduMoroni
Dar es Salaam
Nairobi Victoria
Djibouti
Muscat
Tehran Kabul Islamabad
Karachi
KathmanduNew Delhi
MumbaiBangalore Chennai
Pondicherry
Kolkata
Colombo
Dhaka
BeijingShenyang
WuhanChengdu
Guangzhou
Hong Kong
Shanghai
Taipei
SeoulTokyo
Hanoi
Kyoto
Pyongyang
Ho Chi Minh City
Vientiane
BangkokPhnom Penh
Yangon
Kuala LumpurSingapore
Bandar Seri Begawan
Manila
Jakarta
AdelaideSydney
Canberra
Port Moresby
Nouméa
Port VilaSuva
Wellington
OttawaMontreal
WashingtonNew York
VancouverQuebec City
Toronto
BostonChicago
San FranciscoLos Angeles
Atlanta
Houston
Miami
New Orleans
Mexico CityGuatemala City
San SalvadorTegucigalpa
ManaguaSan José
Panama City Bogotá
Quito
Lima
Santiago
Sana’a
Abu DhabiDubai
Ulaanbaatar
Monterrey
INDIAN OCEAN
New Caledonia(SPC)
Taiwan
NORTH PACIFIC OCEAN
SOUTH PACIFIC OCEAN
Embassy or permanent missionConsulate general, consular outpost or agencyEmbassy or permanent mission, and consulate general
0 1.000 2.000 km
Mean Scale
MINISTRY FOR EUROPE AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS NETWORK
Ministry for Europe and Foreign A�airs, Archives Directorate (Geography Unit) © August 2019
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A REGION OF ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY KEY NUMBERS
Several phenomena at play in the Indo-Pacific justify a proactive approach by French business and cooperation agencies. Infrastruc-ture needs are considerable, es-pecially in the transport, energy and telecommunications sectors. The demographic transition and improvement of social protection systems foster the development of the silver economy. The coexistence of infectious diseases and non-com-municable pathologies make health care central to national priorities. The emergence of a young, urban and globalized middle class gene-rates demand for quality products and services, including in the fields of education, culture and tourism. Lastly, the challenges of sustainable development, in both urban areas and maritime spaces (blue eco-nomy), creates many needs in terms of grids – especially smart grids – and renewable energy.France maintains an extensive di-plomatic and consular network, which is currently present in
45 countries in the Indo-Pacific. In addition to embassies and consu-lates, there are also two offices; Ins-titut Français and Alliance Française branches; cooperation and develop-ment agencies; business, tourism and research support bodies; and French schools. This dense network aims to defend our interests, sup-port our citizens and businesses, and promote our influence, values and economic attractiveness.
Incoming FDI (to France)
Banque de France stocks in billions of euros
Outgoing FDI(to Indo-Pacific)
Banque de France stocks in billions of euros
Goodsexports
Banque de France In billions of euros
12% 9% 18% 18%46% 5% 26% 38%
2018 84,53 Mds €
2008 55,99 Mds €
EVOLUTION
+ 51%
Share in total incoming FDI
Share in total outgoing FDI
Share in total exports
Share of total turnover of
French subsidiary companies
2018 319,56 Mds €
2008 183,43 Mds €
EVOLUTION
+ 74%
2018 78,70 Mds €
2008 122,23 Mds €
EVOLUTION
+ 55%
2016 557,55 Mds €
2010 401,04 Mds €
EVOLUTION
+ 39%
2018 2018 2018 20162008 2008 2008 2010
Turnover of Frenchsubsidiary companies
Eurostats In billions of euros
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AFGHANISTAN
SOUTH AFRICA
AUSTRALIA
MYANMAR
CAMBODIA
CANADA
CHILE
COLOMBIA
COMOROS
SOUTH KOREA
DJIBOUTI
UNITED ARAB
EMIRATES
ECUADOR
UNITED STATES
INDIA
INDONESIA
JAPAN
KENYA
La Réunion (FRANCE)
LAOS
MADAGASCAR
MALAYSIA
MAURITIUS
Mayotte (FRANCE)
MEXICO
MOZAMBIQUE
New Caledonia(FRANCE)
PAKISTAN
PERU
PHILIPPINES
French Polynesia( FRANCE )
SINGAPORESRI LANKA
Taïwan
TANZANIA
THAILAND VIETNAM
BANGLADESH
CHINA
i
Ministry for Europe and Foreign A�airs, Archives Directorate (Geography Unit) © 7 August 2019
AFD (Agence française
de développement)
Business France
Expertise France
France Volontaires
Atout France
ECONOMY AND DEVELOPMENT PRESENCE
0 1.000 2.000 km
Mean Scale
State or territory where the French network is presentOther state or territory of the Indian Pacific region
Agency: BusinessO�ce
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AFGHANISTAN
BANGLADESHMYANMAR
AUSTRALIA
BRUNEI
CAMBODIA
CANADA
CHILI
CHINA
COLOMBIE
COMOROS
SEYCHELLES
SOUTH KOREA
DJIBOUTI
UNITED ARAB
EMIRATE
ECUADOR
FIJI
INDIA
INDONESIA
IRAN JAPAN
KENYA
La Réunion(FRANCE)
Mayotte(FRANCE)
Taïwan
VIETNAMTHAILAND
PHILIPPINES
SINGAPORE
MALAYSIA
LAOS
MADAGASCAR
MALDIVES
MAURICE
MEXICONEPAL
New Caledonia (FRANCE)
PAPUA NEW GUINEA
VANUATU
Wallis and Futuna(FRANCE)
SAMOA
NEW ZEALAND
PERUFrench Polynesia
( FRANCE )
SOMALIA
TANZANIAEAST TIMOR
SOUTH AFRICA
NORTH KOREA
MONGOLIE
COSTA RICA
PAKISTAN
OMAN
UNITED STATES
Ministry for Europe and Foreign A�airs, Archives Directorate (Geography Unit) © 16 August 2019
UMIFRE (French Research Institutes Established Abroad)
CNRS (French National Centre for Scientific Research)
Agency:
CIRAD (French Agricultural Research Centre
for International Development)
IRD (French National Researc Institute for Development)
ANRS (French National Agency for Research on AIDS)
Institut PasteurArcheological projects
BusinessO�ce
State or territory where a Frenchresearch or development agency is presentState or territory where a French research or development agency does business from abroad
Other state or teritory of the Indian Pacific Region
SCIENCE AND RESEARCH NETWORK
0 1.000 2.000 km
Mean Scale
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UNITED ARAB EMIRATE
UNITED STATES
AFGHANISTAN
BANGLADESH
MYANMAR
AUSTRALIA
CAMBODIA
CANADA
CHILE
CHINA
COLOMBIA
COMOROS
SEYCHELLES
DJIBOUTI
ECUADOR
INDIA
INDONESIA
IRANJAPAN
KENYA
TAIWAN
VIETNAM
PHILIPPINES
SINGAPOREMALAYSIA
LAOS
MADAGASCAR
MAURITIUS
MEXICO
NEPAL
VANUATU
PERUTANZANIA
SOUTH AFRICA
MONGOLIA
COSTA RICA
GUATEMALA NICARAGUAEL SALVADOR
PANAMA
OMAN
MOZAMBIQUE
SRI LANKA
THAILAND
SOUTH KOREA
BRUNEI
FIJI
TONGA
NEW ZEALAND
PAKISTAN
i
0 1 000 2 000 km
Mean Scale
Ministry for Europe and Foreign A�airs, Archives Directorate (Geography Unit) © August 2019
CULTURE, LANGUAGE AND EDUCATION PRESENCE
State or territory where the French network is presentOther state or teritory of the Indian Pacific Region
Alliance française
Instituts français
Espaces Campus France
AEFE (Agency for French
Education Abroad)
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Indo-Pacific at the heart of global challenges
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Twenty-five years ago, Asia was declared the new frontier for French diplo-macy, a focus that became tangible in 1996 with the advent of the Asia- Europe Meeting (ASEM), at the initiative of France and Singapore. The no-tion of the Indo-Pacific space means we should expand our vision, while maintaining a strong Asian foothold, to take into ac-count the geopolitical
and geo-economic reality resulting from the shift in the global economy’s centre of gravity from the Atlantic to the Pacific, demonstrated tangibly by the many maritime trade routes linking Europe and the Persian Gulf to the Pacific Ocean, via the Indian Ocean and South-East Asia.
The vast region emerging through this geostrategic upheaval has be-come the theatre of profound shifts which require heightened vigilance and mobilization from France:• The Indo-Pacific is the scene of crises and major tensions that could result in conflicts with regional or even global implications. In the absence of a sufficiently developed regional security architecture to prevent conflicts, power relations prevail, thus encouraging States to strengthen their defence capa-bilities and maintaining strategic distrust.• The most striking phenomenon in this new century is the assertive attitude of China, which is increa-singly active in the conventional multilateral game while promoting its own view of the world, illustrated for example by the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative. In a context where hegemonic tendencies and unilateralist temptations coexist, the path taken by China and the United States and the direction
they will give to their bilateral rela-tionship will be crucial in determi-ning balances in the Indo-Pacific. These balances only stand to suffer from regional bipolarization and an undermining of the foundations of multilateralism and international law.• Radical Islam has been gaining ground in the region since the 1970s, resulting in increasing re-ligious intolerance and terrorism. The emergence of Daesh has led to a game of violent one-upmanship between the group and other esta-blished organizations, playing on the various frustrations of the region’s Muslim populations. There is a real risk of destabilization in areas where there is little government presence, or even an expansion of terrorist activities to the wider region.• The demographic and urban transition and the emergence of a middle class are progressing qui-ckly in developing countries. These shifts are a great opportunity for French business, and could also
catalyse higher political, economic and social standards in regional States that should be taken into account. They are related to envi-ronmental, climate and sustainable development issues that need to be addressed.
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Deepen France’s and the EU’s partnerships in the Indo-Pacific
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In this context of multiple challenges, the time has come for France to build a new relationship with Asia and Oceania, as indicated by President Emmanuel Macron in his speech ope-ning the Conference of Ambassadors on 27 Au-gust 2018. In this context, the French strategy in the Indo-Pacific, the ma-jor lines of which were set out by the President in his speech at
Garden Island, Sydney, on 2 May 2018, proposes a holistic vision of the region as an inclu-sive space of balance, development, security and diversity, where at-tempts at hegemony must be discouraged along with temptations of division or confrontation.
This strategy aims to strengthen France’s presence and activities in the region in the political, strate-gic, economic and environmental spheres, by consolidating our strate-gic partnerships non-exclusively but standing by our principles. In an international context marked by un-certainties and rising unilateralism, our priority is to propose an alter-native aimed at promoting a stable, law-based and multipolar order in the Indo-Pacific. Our goal is to act as a mediating power, as desired by the President of the Republic, and a diplomatic, military, cultural, educational power, nationally and in a European framework, capable of defending our interests and sharing our values.
In this context, France should:• Continue strengthening and re-balancing its comprehensive strate-gic partnership with China ensu-ring higher standards. This essential partnership requires greater reci-procity, including via the European
Union, both in the framework of confident and constructive political dialogue and in deepening economic and trade relations and human ex-changes;• Develop and deepen its other partnerships in the region, such as with Australia, India, Indonesia, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore and South Korea, on the basis of shared values and interests, establishing ad hoc formats for dialogue and coo-peration with a view to developing strategic convergence and contri-buting to the peace and stability of the Asian Indo-Pacific space, especially in maritime terms. Re-lations with Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam should also be developed in this framework;• Work to strengthen the positio-ning of the European Union in the region, supporting: the conclusion of a strategic partnership with ASEAN; admission to the East Asia Summit (EAS); resumption and progress of negotiations for trade and investment agreements, inclu-
ding with certain ASEAN countries, with an eye ultimately on an ambi-tious bi-regional agreement; revita-lizing ASEM, which should become a clearer space for the expression of Europe’s ambition in Asia; imple-mentation of the EU Connecting Europe and Asia strategy; and draf-ting of a European Pacific strategy;• Play a greater role in regional organizations, requiring more in-tense relations with ASEAN and all its Member States, some of which have historic ties with France, inclu-ding: within the ADMM+ (ASEAN Defence Minister Meeting Plus) framework; greater contribution in relevant forums such as the Heads of Asian Coast Guard Agencies Meeting (HACGAM), the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) and the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP); and more ge-nerally, greater presence in all re-gional and sub-regional forums with which France will be in a position to
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contribute to the development of the enhanced and renewed multila-teralism it hopes to see;• Contribute to a comprehensive response to the threat of Islamist terrorism in the region, simul-taneously combating, - The symptoms, via the develop-ment of cooperation projects com-bating terrorism and radicalization, in liaison with the countries the most affected; - The political causes, giving parti-cular attention to the situation in Afghanistan and the difficulties en-countered by Muslim minorities in Asia; - The systemic causes, by contribu-ting to promotion of the rule of law and good governance.• Support ongoing transitions in the region by working to promote regio-nal and global common goods, inclu-ding the environment, health care, education and digital technology: - By contributing to their sustai-nable development and an effective response to climate change, and by
promoting French expertise and solu-tions in this context; - By supporting the development of civil society in the framework of promoting human rights and the rule of law, multilingualism and cultural diversity, while paying particular attention to gender equality.
AustraliaCanada (sectoral partnerships)ChinaIndiaIndonesiaJapan
MexicoSingaporeSouth AfricaSouth KoreaUnited Arab EmiratesUnited StatesVietnam
STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS/DIALOGUES
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Recom-mendations
SECURITY Area of action n° 1 Work to fos-ter peace and security, notably by contributing to the emergence of a stable multipolar regional balance1.1 France will contribute through a comprehensive approach to multi-polarity in the Indo-Pacific.1.2 France will work to soothe ten-sions, prevent conflicts and manage crises in the region, in accordance with UN resolutions. 1.3 France will ensure the protec-tion of its citizens and its Indian Ocean and Pacific communities and their resources.
Area of action n° 2 Contribute to a comprehensive response to Islamist terrorism in the Indo-Pacific 2.1 France will contribute to efforts to prevent violent extremism and combat Islamist terrorism.2.2 France will contribute to addressing the political causes of radicalization.2.3 France will tackle the root causes of radicalization alongside countries in the region.
INDEPENDENCE Area of action n° 3 Expand and deepen our strategic partnerships in the region3.1 France will develop its strategic partnerships in the Indo-Pacific.3.2 France will implement a strate-gic approach to its presence in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, fully involving its overseas communities.3.3 France will work to establish ad hoc partnerships consolidating its security and stature in the Indo- Pacific, by forging closer ties with its major partners. Area of action n° 4 Wield greater influence on the regional stage and better defend our interests through the European Union and regional organizations4.1 France will strengthen the pro-tective role of the European Union in the face of the major Indo-Pacific powers.4.2 France will support the Euro-pean Union’s advocacy and visibility in the region, particularly within the framework of the EU Connecting Europe and Asia strategy.
4.3 France will foster strategic po-sitioning of the European Union in the region.4.4 France will contribute to the development of a united approach by the European Union and its Member States to address the re-gion’s major challenges.4.5 France will draw on its Euro-pean Union membership in its coo-peration with regional institutions.
SOLIDARITY Area of action n° 5 Promote global common goods among and with our regional partners5.1 France will foster convergence with its Indo-Pacific partners (inclu-ding within the G20) on global issues.5.2 France will contribute to im-proving the quality of life of popu-lations and developing an effective response to climate change. 5.3 France will contribute to promo-ting fundamental rights and the rule of law in the region, as part of a posi-tive and comprehensive approach.
INFLUENCE Area of action n° 6 Support econo-mic, demographic, territorial, energy and technological transitions in regio-nal countries6.1 France will facilitate the access of its businesses to markets in the re-gion, promoting French expertise and innovative technological solutions in key sectors, with particular attention to ASEAN markets.6.2 France will promote and diver-sify its educational provision for emerging middle classes and local elites.
Area of action n° 7 Foster France’s outreach in the region to enhance its influence, while adapting to new au-diences7.1 France will step up its public diplomacy aimed at young people.7.2 France will adapt its tourist offerings and promotion to the on-going demographic and social shifts in the region.7.3 France will focus its efforts to promote its image on the theme of innovation.7.4 France will draw on networks of French researchers in the Indo-Pa-cific to promote its influence and ideas.
Seven areas of action are proposed for the implementation of the French strategy in the Indo-Paci-fic, focusing on the four priorities for French diplomacy identified by the President of the Republic:
- The safety of French citizens; - France’s independence, com-bined with European ambition; - Transnational solidarity via the promotion of common goods; - France’s influence and attrac-tiveness.
Each of these areas of action should give rise to tangible initia-tives aimed at allowing France to fully play its role as a mediating power in an inclusive Indo-Pacific space.
Directorate for Asia and Oceania37, quai d’Orsay75351 ParisFrance