Hollande was the chief guest at the ceremonial parade on the Rajpath where India’s military might and cultural diversity and achievements in various fields were on display.
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“The Rafale deal is critical for India to plug the immediate operational requirements of its air force as it seeks to add more teeth to its inventory”, he told Anadolu Agency.
On his part, Hollande said: “We signed an inter-governmental agreement (IGA) on Rafale deal”.
Indian Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel march during a parade to mark during Republic Day celebrations in Secunderabad on January 26, 2016.
Hollande said that a new Islamic State video which threatens countries of the U.S.-led coalition fighting the terror group would only strengthen France’s resolve to combat terrorism.
The day is etched in the country’s history as a watershed marking the birth of modern India following independence from Britain in 1947.
Though Hollande said on Monday that the financial issues will be sorted out in a few days, Dassault Aviation, the aircraft-maker, said in a statement that it expected a complete agreement on the planes in four weeks’ time. “Why should we set ourselves a time line”, sources said.
France also began military strikes against Daesh in Syria following the attacks.
The Paris attacks bore similarities to a 2008 attack on Mumbai, where terrorists struck multiple locations, including a five-star hotel, killing 166 people.
The two leaders also sent out a strong message on terror.
Later, Prime Minister Modi and President Hollande will jointly lay the foundation stone for International Solar Alliance (ISA) Headquarters and inaugurate the interim Secretariat of ISA at National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE) in Gurgaon.
ISA will mobilise $1 trillion to expand solar power capacity across the world.
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Both countries also pushed commercial ties with France, eyeing investments in India’s fast-growing economy and New Delhi seeking much-needed investments. Despite 10 per cent growth in most years and more than a thousand French companies operating in India, India-France trade hovers around $8 billion, which amounts to half of India’s trade with the United Kingdom or Germany. But persisting differences over price of the aircraft prevented India and France from signing the agreement, although they noted progress in the negotiations in a memorandum of understanding.
