The just concluded visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to France saw the rare phenomenon of the two countries releasing as many as three official statements on July 14 - “Joint Communiqué on the visit of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi to France”; “List of Outcomes: Prime Minister’s visit to France”; and “Joint Communiqué on the visit of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi to France”.
What was missed, however, in these statements was the much talked about, rather much anticipated, purchase of 26 Rafale-M fighter jets and three Scorpene submarines from France.
What could be the reasons? The standard explanation, if press reports are any indication, is that negotiators tried to finish talks on these two big purchases while Modi was in France, but could not conclude. “The negotiators tried to close the two deals in time so that they could include the lines in the document. But that could not be wrapped up by the summit meeting… It went down to the wire, till the Prime Minister and the French President met and discussed the matter… but could not be closed,” according to the Indian Express newspaper.
If the Hindustan Times is to be believed, the two purchases definitely will happen, but the official statements avoided mentioning them because negotiations between India and France are still on about pricing, date of delivery and the “Make in India” component of the Rafale for the carrier Vikrant and Scorpene submarine.
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