Bastille Day 2023: India to acquire 26 Rafale jets as PM Modi visits France
Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders with France's Naval Group, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday. This comes at a time when Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on a two-day visit to France.
As reported by Reuters citing sources, “Ministry of Defence gives initial nod to buy 26 Rafale fighter jets for Indian navy made by France's Dassault Aviation." Reuters further reported that the Defence Ministry also gives an initial nod for three Scorpene class submarines to be made by MDL with a French naval group. India is one of the biggest buyers of French arms, with Modi announcing a landmark deal for 36 Rafale fighter jets during a trip to Paris in 2015 that was worth around 4.0 billion euros ($4.24 billion) at the time, AFP reported.
New Delhi is seeking to rapidly modernise its armed forces, with fears about China's assertiveness heightened by simmering disputes along its Himalayan frontier. PM Modi will visit France to attend the Bastille Day Parade as the Guest of Honour at the invitation of French President Emmanuel Macron.
He will be the second Indian PM after Manmohan Singh in 2009 to be the Guest of Honour at Bastille Day Parade, the report said. PM Modi's visit presents an opportunity for the two nations to move into the next phase in the India-France strategic partnership and set new ambitious goals for cultural, scientific, academic, economic cooperation and wide range of interests, Sunil Prasad, Secretary General of Brussels based Europe India Chamber of Commerce wrote in the Media India Group report. As reported by ANI, France is a nation of the Indo-Pacific and PM Modi's visit will help strengthen the collaboration between two nations in the Indo-Pacific where France has overseas territories and an
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