The ministry went on to state that, “as a symbol of friendship and trust between the two countries”, India would “honor France through the participation of a French military contingent” in Tuesday’s Republic Day festivities. Modi announced India’s intention to buy the Rafale jets, manufactured by Dassault Aviation, during a visit to Paris in April, touching off several rounds of negotiations over the price and details such as servicing. The deal is valued at around Rs.60,000 crore.
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“We had seen the motorcycle daredevilry video on the web in China only but saw it in India for the first time”, she said. The Modi government, these sources said, was negotiating for a much lower price for machines which includes 36 fighter jets in flyaway condition, weapon systems, a support maintenance package, training of pilots and technicians and spares.
Stressing that developing countries had their developmental needs, Modi said that this can not be possible without the use of energy and hence the dilemma before the world is how to protect the environment while meeting the developmental needs of such nations.
Hollande said his visit to India was aimed at reinforcing “cooperation against terrorism”.
Hollande said: “It is a decisive step for India to purchase the fighter jets and also for France to make them available to a great country like India”. The two leaders encouraged their industrial companies to conclude techno-commercial negotiations by the end of 2016 for the construction of six nuclear power reactor units at Jaitapur.
The 67th Republic Day parade on New Delhi’s Rajpath on Tuesday was a spectacular display of India’s military might and rich cultural diversity. Modi and Hollande travelled by metro train from Delhi to Gurgaon, for the foundation stone laying ceremony of the ISA, which was agreed during the COP21 climate conference in Paris. “They have proven themselves against ISIS and we are happy to be able to provide them to India”, he said.
Modi said he had invited Hollande as a show of solidarity after November’s shootings and bombings by Islamists in Paris that killed 130 and evoked memories of the even bloodier 2008 attacks in Mumbai. According to sources, the MoU between India and France has been signed for the inter-governmental agreement.
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The French leader arrived Sunday in the northern city of Chandigarh, where Modi joined him and lauded France’s decision to invest $1 billion every year in India in various sectors.
