Modi's France Visit Will Focus On Defence, Space

France will be the first stop on a two-nation tour this week by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will be the guest of honour at the annual Bastille Day Parade and hold talks with President Emmanuel Macron to take forward cooperation in key areas ranging from defence to space.

- Rezaul H Laskar and Rahul Singh

Modi is visiting France at the invitation of Macron during July 13-14. Being the chief guest at the military parade is considered a signal honour, and the last foreign leader to receive it in France was former US president Donald Trump in 2017. A 269-member Indian tri-services contingent will participate in the parade and three French-origin Rafale combat jets of the Indian Air Force (IAF) will join a flypast.

Defence is set to be a focus area during Modi's visit to Paris, with the two sides expected to sign agreements to pave the way for India buying 26 Rafale-Marine combat jets for the navy and building three more Scorpene-class submarines in the country, officials aware of the matter said. India's defence acquisitions council headed by defence minister Rajnath Singh, is expected to accord acceptance of necessity (AON) to the navy for buying the maritime fighters and for building the diesel-electric attack submarines at state-run Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited. The IAF operates 36 Rafale jets bought from France at a cost of ₹59,000 crore, and the Rafale M will bring commonality with IAF's fighters, creating advantages in training, maintenance and logistics support.

There are also reports that an arrangement for joint development of an engine for fighter jets with French aircraft equipment manufacturer Safran and a road map for defence-industrial cooperation could be finalised during the visit. Foreign secretary Vinay Kwatra told a media briefing that defence cooperation between India and France covers several important areas, including exercises, logistics support and maritime security cooperation in the Indian Ocean and Indo-Pacific.