PARIS: Defense Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on October 12 visited a production facility of French aerospace major Dassault Aviation near Paris where the Rafale jets to be supplied to India are being manufactured, official sources said.
They said during her visit to the plant in Argenteuil, Sitharaman spoke to officials of the Dassault Aviation, the makers of Rafale, and took stock of progress in production of the fighter jets whose delivery to India will begin in September next year.
Sitharaman arrived in Paris on a three-day visit in the midst of a massive controversy over the procurement of 36 Rafale jets under a Rs 58,000 crore government-to-government deal between India and France.
Sitharaman held wide-ranging talks with her French counterpart Florence Parly on ways to deepen the strategic and defense cooperation between the two countries. The talks were held under the framework of the annual Indo-French defense ministerial dialogue which was agreed to during the summit meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron in March.
The two defense ministers comprehensively reviewed the entire gamut of the bilateral defense cooperation, which is a key pillar of the India-France strategic partnership, an official statement said.
They also exchanged views on contemporary regional and international developments of mutual interest.
Both sides discussed ways to deepen defense related official as well as operational level interactions. It was agreed to expand the scope and complexity of the regular joint exercises (Shakti, Varuna and Garuda) in the future, the statement said.
Recognizing that India-France partnership in the Indian Ocean Region is important for preserving and promoting the common strategic and security interests, the two leaders noted the continuing implementation of the “Joint Strategic Vision of India-France Cooperation in the Indian Ocean Region.
She also called on French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe and discussed issues of bilateral cooperation.
In her interaction with the top leaders of the French defense industry, Sitharaman urged them to undertake and expand their defense manufacturing in India under the Make in India initiative as well as promote defense technology and R&D cooperation with Indian stakeholders such as Bharat Dynamics Limited, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, Bharat Electronics Limited, Bharat Earth Movers Limited, Goa Shipyard Limited, Mazagaon Dock Shipbuilders Limited etc. PTI
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