India’s Ambassador to France Jawed Ashraf said Safran is ready to collaborate and share technology for the development of fighter jet engines in India, Reuters reported.
At a media briefing Friday, foreign secretary Vinay Kwatra, disclosing key outcomes of the talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the French president in Jaipur last night, also said India’s Tata group and France’s Airbus have signed an agreement to manufacture civilian helicopters “with a significant indigenous and made in India component”.
Kwatra further added that India and France have firmed up a defence-industrial partnership roadmap. He added that this would provide for co-development and co-production of key military hardware and platforms and facilitate technology collaboration in a range of areas including space, land warfare, cyberspace and artificial intelligence.
Ties between France and India have strengthened with a 25-year plan to deepen cooperation in defence, nuclear energy, and space. PM Modi was invited as the chief guest at the Bastille Day celebrations in France last year, unveiling plans to acquire additional submarines from France’s Naval Group and 26 marine Rafale fighter jets by Dassault Aviation SA.
French President Emmanuel Macron landed in Jaipur on Thursday, accompanied by a high-profile delegation that includes Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury, Safran SA CEO Olivier Andries, and top executives from EDF SA and Dassault Aviation SA.
