India-France joint statement after PM Modi's visit skipped mention of Rafale deal - Here's why

livemint.com:

Narendra Modi met with his counterpart in Paris. The Defence Ministry greenlit plans to order 26 additional Rafale jets as well as another three Scorpene-class submarines, noting that price and other terms were still being worked out. Key details of the defence deal were however left out of a revised joint statement released in the wake of bilateral talks - even as it outlined a roadmap of bilateral ties till 2047.

According to an NDTV report quoting sources, the two countries will soon begin negotiations for 26 Rafale aircrafts and three Scorpene class submarines for the Indian Navy. Despite being cleared by the Defence Ministry's Acquisition Committee it was left out of the statement as this was a 25 year roadmap. "Now negotiations will take place.

Before the contract is signed, we need to discuss with the industry and finalise. You shouldn't read too much into it not being specifically mentioned in the statement," the publication quoted sources to explain. India is one of the biggest buyers of French arms, and Modi announced a landmark deal for 36 Rafale fighter jets during a 2015 trip to Paris that was worth around 4.0 billion euros at the time.

Several of these planes also took part in the recent Bastille Day celebrations attended by the PM. While the state-run ship-builder Mazagon Dock Limited and French defence major Naval Group had firmed up a framework agreement on July 6 for the Scorpene submarine project negotiations on price and other technical details are yet to be firmed up.  A PTI report quoting sources said that the deal to procure the Rafale-M naval variant of the jet would be sealed once the techno-commercial negotiations are concluded. (With inputs from agencies)