India and France have decided to collaborate on the development of defense equipment, such as helicopters and submarines, for the Indian armed forces as well as for friendly nations, according to New Delhi.
The agreement was made during French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to India when he visited Prime Minister Narendra Modi and went to a state banquet that President Draupadi Murmu was hosting, the ministry stated in a late-Friday statement. As stated, Macron and Modi decided to deepen their bilateral cooperation in nuclear energy, space exploration, military manufacturing, and artificial intelligence applications for public health, agriculture, and climate change. The value of any trades was left out.
India has depended on French fighter jets for forty years, making it the country’s second-largest arms supplier after Russia. The leaders expressed their cordial reception of the establishment by France’s Safran SAF.PA of maintenance, repair, and overhaul services for leading-edge aviation propulsion (LEAP) engines in India, including such services for Rafale engines and a helicopter partnership.
The 40-hour visit included a bilateral summit between Macron and Modi, the fifth since May. According to Indian Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra, France’s Airbus AIR.PA and India’s Tata Group have jointly inked a deal to produce civilian helicopters.
