The delegation accompanying French President Francois Hollande and embassy officials here expressed happiness over the two countries coming together to celebrate India’s 67th Republic Day.
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India and France signed an MOU towards an Inter-Government Agreement which will form the basis for India’s purchase of 36 Rafale fighter jets from France.
This inter-governmental agreement follows the government-to-government deal struck by Modi to buy 36 Rafale fighter jets from Dassault Aviation SA during his visit to France in April.
Hollande has said he is “optimistic” that an inter-governmental accord that would pave the way for a final contract would be agreed on Monday, but also warned that pinning down the fine details of such a deal “obviously takes time”.
Hollande also appreciated PM Modi’s role in Climate change conference held at Paris last December and said the PM played a very important role in the success of summit. But the cost negotiations for these 36 aircraft, even after months of negotiations, could not be concluded in time for President Hollande’s visit, with top government sources describing the negotiations as “complicated”.
India has been hosting heads of state as chief guests of its Republic Day celebrations since 1950, when this invitation was extended to President Sukarno of Indonesia.
India and France came out with a joint statement which talked about the need for “all countries to effectively deal with terrorism emanating from their territory or territories under their control”.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi greeted the nation and payed tribute to Babasaheb Ambedkar, the father of India constitution.
“There are all kinds of dangers that are hovering around countries such as India and France and one of the main aims behind my visit is to reinforce and strengthen the cooperation against terrorism between our two countries”, Mr Hollande told mediapersons, after being accorded a ceremonial reception at the Rashtrapati Bhawan.
The 66-year-old tradition of the Republic Day celebrations, the colorful BSF Camel Regiment consisting of 56 camels led by Deputy Commandant Kuldeep J Choudhary also marched on the Rajpath.
Both leaders played up their interest in cooperating in the fight against global militant groups, with Hollande saying France and its allies would strike “again and again” against Islamic State (IS).
Gurgaon: Putting all speculations aside, India and France have inked the Rafale fighter jet deal today.
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The two leaders “have set some timelines to move on the various nuclear understandings that we have”, Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar said at a media briefing on Monday.
