New Delhi: National Security Advisor Ajit Doval Thursday met his French counterpart Emmanuel Bonne, Diplomatic Advisor to President Emmanuel Macron, firming up the agenda for the bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the French President even as both sides are expected to sign a mega deal on manufacturing jet engines in India, ABP Live has learnt.
The deal, which comes right after a similar US-India deal on GE’s F414 fighter jet engines pacts, is expected to be signed during Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Paris next week. French defence conglomerate Safran is expected to go for full transfer of technology for its engines that will power India’s twin engine advanced multi-role combat aircraft (AMCA) and the twin engine deck-based fighter for the aircraft carriers, top-level sources told ABP Live.
The matter was discussed in detail during the meeting between Doval and Bonne Thursday. Bonne also called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
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Last month, Safran had announced that it will be making the world's largest manufacturing MRO centre for aircraft engines in India by 2024.
France and India share a strategic partnership and Prime Minister Modi has been invited by President Macron to attend the Bastille Day celebrations on July 13 and 14 as the ‘Guest of Honour’. India and France are also celebrating the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Franco-Indian strategic partnership.
Both NSAs had earlier met in January this year for the Indo-French Strategic Dialogue.
India is also looking to procure the Rafale’s maritime variant – Rafale M – for the Indian Navy under the country’s Multi-Role Carrier-Borne Fighters (MRCBF) programme.
The Indian Air Force is already using the Rafale fighter planes. If the deal for Rafale M also goes through then it will be easier for the Navy to use the training and maintenance facility in Ambala, sources said.
India and France signed the deal to procure 36 Rafale fighters for the Indian Air Force in 2016.