New Delhi, Jul 28 (IANS): India, France, and the UAE held a meeting on Thursday to discuss trilateral cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region, an MEA statement said.

According to the Ministry of External Affairs statement, the three sides exchanged perspectives on the Indo-Pacific region and explored the potential areas of trilateral cooperation.

These were identified as maritime security, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR), 'Blue' economy, regional connectivity, cooperation in multilateral fora, energy and food security, innovation and startups, supply chain resilience, and cultural and people-to-people cooperation.

The three sides also discussed the next steps to be taken for furthering trilateral cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region.

The Indian side was led by MEA's Joint Secretary, Europe West, Sandeep Chakravorty, and Joint Secretary, Gulf, Vipul, the French side was led by its Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs' Director, Asia and Oceania, Bertrand Lortholary and Deputy Director, Middle East and North Africa, Emmanuel Suquet and the UAE delegation by its Foreign Ministry's Economic and Trade Affairs Department Deputy Director Ahmed Burhaima.