India and France on Friday reviewed their Defence and strategic ties and discussed security situation including co-operation in fighting terrorism during talks between visiting French Defence Minister Florence Parley and her Indian counterpart Nirmala Sitharaman. The two sides also decided to expand military ties including the enhancement of scope of joint maritime exercises Varuna.
Besides these issues, the two sides also explored the possibilities of transfer of critical technology to boost the capabilities of Indian Defence manufacturing sector under the ‘Make in India’ policy. The two countries agreed to have more intense relationship in the field of research and development for manufacturing weapon systems as joint projects here.
The progress of the Rafale fighter jet deal worth over six billion Euros was also reviewed, it was learnt. India and France had inked this government to government deal for 36 Rafale medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) in September last year which entails buying the jets from French manufacturer Dassault. However, the IAF needs more fighter jets and France is keen to sell more Rafales as the IAF had initially projected the necessity for 126 MMRCA when the proposal was conceived some years back.
The Defence Ministry officials said after the ministerial level meeting that the two ministers had a look at the ongoing initiatives to further boost bilateral defence co-operation as a key pillar of the strategic partnership between India and France.
Besides ramping up the level of military to military exercises, the two sides also agreed to actively explore additional measures to facilitate operational level interactions between the armed forces of two countries. The two countries also reiterated their intention to further expand bilateral co-operation on counter-terrorism.
Taking note of growing importance of maritime security in India-Pacific region and need for greater maritime domain awareness, the two ministers agreed to further expand information sharing arrangements building upon the Technical Arrangement on Exchange of White Shipping information signed earlier this year.