Indo-French bonhomie: No Rafale, but Modi, Hollande enjoy cultural extravaganza

French President, Francois Hollande who is on a three-day visit to India as the chief guest for 2016 Republic Day Parade was accorded a ceremonial Reception at Rashtrapati Bhawan on Monday.

 India had originally sought to purchase 126 Rafales, France’s most advanced warplane, but negotiations collapsed past year.

Hollande’s visit is seen as a signal of growing political and strategic ties between the two countries.

Both leaders played up their interest in cooperating in the fight against worldwide militant groups, with Hollande saying France and its allies would strike “again and again” against Islamic State (IS).

“In the field of Defence cooperation, leaving out financial aspect, India and France have signed Inter-Governmental Agreement on purchase of 36 Rafale fighter jets”.

While the Rafale aircraft deal has overshadowed much of the discussion on French ties in the past few days, the fact is that France began to supply India aircraft (‘Toofani’, or Dassault Ouragan fighters) as early as in 1953, and has been a consistent supplier since.

The two countries yesterday also released a joint statement exclusively on terror, urging Pakistan to take action against perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks and the air force base, while urging greater worldwide unity in fighting terror.

A statement by Dassault Aviation said: “Dassault Aviation is very pleased with this progress, and is actively supporting French authorities in their efforts to finalise a complete agreement within the next four weeks”.

A parade in New Delhi on Tuesday was watched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and chief guest French President Francois Hollande, whose invitation to the event equals the highest honor India can confer upon a foreign dignitary. “They are provoking us in the worst possible manner, but this can only make us more determined, including myself”, he said. After Modi greeted Hollande with a hug, the two leaders strolled through Chandigarh’s renowned rock garden, with its sculptures made out of rubble from the city’s construction, before addressing business leaders.

Hollande and Modi have said that further talks are needed to finalise the terms of the deal, which Modi had announced when he visited France a year ago to secure 136 Rafale jets for Indian forces.

Both the leaders also laid the foundation stone of the headquarters of ISA at the National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE) in Gurgaon.

French companies will invest $10 billion in India over five years, mostly in industry, Michel Sapin, finance minister of France, said here today.