Chandigarh: French President Francois Hollande Sunday played down the prospects of a swift conclusion to a drawn-out deal for New Delhi to buy 36 French fighter jets as he began a three-day visit to India. However, the two countries signed 16 MoUs including an agreement between Airbus Group and Mahindra for manufacture of copters and three under the ‘Smart City’ theme.
The invitation for Hollande to be chief guest at the Republic Day parade Tuesday had raised expectations that the multi-billion dollar agreement for the Rafale jets would finally be sealed. But on landing in Chandigarh, Hollande cooled talk that the contract was on the verge of being signed, saying further discussions were needed. ‘‘We are going to take another step on the road which we hope will lead us to India’s acquisition of the 36 Rafale jets,’’ he told reporters.
‘‘India needs them and France has shown that it has the world’s best aircraft. The commercial contract can come after the inter-governmental accord… which will be discussed during my visit,’’ he added.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced in Paris last year that his government had agreed to buy the jets as India looks to modernise its Soviet-era military and keep up with neighbouring Pakistan and China.
The two leaders stepped into the long-delayed deal after torturous negotiations over a much-larger agreement first signed with France’s Dassault Aviation in 2012 broke down.
Hollande began his second official visit to India in Chandigarh, which was designed by French architect Le Corbusier more than 60 years ago. He and Modi strolled through Chandigarh’s renowned Rock Garden, with its sculptures made out of rubble from the city’s construction.
The MoUs, which cover a wide range of sectors like urban development, transport, water and waste treatment and solar energy, were signed in the presence of Modi and Hollande.
Speaking at the conference, Hollande said one of the main agendas of his visit was to foster ties between Paris and New Delhi to tackle terrorism as both were affected by the menace.
“I will talk about two (things): First, security, because we are affected by regional crisis and also terrorism. Both countries have been hit. So together we will increase our exchanges, cooperation between services and act to reinforce our military equipment. It is part of the agenda for this trip,” he said.
As part of ‘Make in India’ initiative, an agreement was signed between Airbus Group and Mahindra to manufacture helicopters here.
From the French side, the agreement for cooperation to manufacture the helicopters was signed by Pieree De Bausset, president and managing direcor Airbus Group India, while from the Indian side, it was inked by group president Prakash Shukla,
‘‘Had a fruitful meeting with CEOs in Chandigarh’’, Modi tweeted later. AFP
