by Manoj Kumar
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India and France have agreed to work together on joint production of defense equipment, including helicopters and submarines for the Indian armed forces and for friendly countries, New said Delhi.
The agreement was reached during a visit by French President Emmanuel Macron, who met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and attended a state dinner hosted by President Draupadi Murmu, the government said in a statement on Friday at the end of the day.
Macron and Modi agreed to expand bilateral ties in defense equipment production, nuclear energy, space research and the use of artificial intelligence for public services such as climate change, health and agriculture, according to the press release.
The value of the agreements was not specified.
After Russia, France is the most important arms supplier to India, which has relied on its fighter jets for four decades.
The leaders welcomed the establishment of maintenance, repair and overhaul services by the French company Safran for LEAP engines in India and the addition of similar services for Rafale engines, as well as a partnership in the field of helicopters.
The bilateral summit held during Emmanuel Macron’s visit was the fifth meeting between the French president and the Indian Prime Minister since May.
The Indian group Tata and the French company Airbus have signed an agreement to jointly manufacture civil helicopters, Indian Foreign Minister Vinay Kwatra said.
French engine manufacturer CFM International also announced an agreement with Indian company Akasa Air to purchase more than 300 of its LEAP-1B engines to equip 150 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft.
Akasa Air had already ordered 76 aircraft equipped with this engine, of which 22 are currently in service.
India and France have agreed to intensify cooperation in the southwest Indian Ocean, building on joint monitoring missions conducted from the French island territory of Reunion in 2020 and 2022, according to the government press release.
Emmanuel Macron also said that France would create the necessary conditions to attract up to 30,000 Indian students per year to higher education.
(Written by William Mallard, French version Benjamin Mallet)
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